Sage-Tips

What happens if you hit your spine too hard?

When any of these injuries occur it can also damage your spinal cord and might result in paralysis (loss of feeling and movement) below the level of the injury, reduced muscle power (weakness), altered sensations and muscle tone.

What is the most severe injury to the spinal cord?

Cervical spinal cord injuries affect the head and neck region above the shoulders. It is the most severe level of spinal cord injury.

How do you treat spinal nerve damage?

Unfortunately, there’s no way to reverse damage to the spinal cord. But researchers are continually working on new treatments, including prostheses and medications, that might promote nerve cell regeneration or improve the function of the nerves that remain after a spinal cord injury.

What types of conditions can result if there is damage to the spinal cord?

Injuries to the spinal cord can affect many functions of the body, such as:

• Spinal cord reflexes.
• Spinal shock.
• Breathing.
• Neurogenic shock (low heart rate and low blood pressure)
• Altered temperature regulation.
• Autonomic hyperreflexia.
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Stomach ileus.

What level of spinal cord injury requires ventilation?

A high spinal cord injury (C1-C3) entails invasive mechanical ventilation (Table 2).

What is a C7 spinal cord injury?

Individuals with a complete C7 spinal cord injury will not be able to move or feel their trunk or lower body, and will also have some impairments in their hands/fingers. This will affect: Bladder and bowel movements. The inability to control these reflexes and muscle contractions can make you very prone to accidents.

What is a C4 injury?

A C4 spinal cord injury occurs when damage is dealt about mid-way down the cervical spinal cord — the topmost portion of the spinal cord that is located in the neck and upper shoulders.

Can nerve damage in the spine be repaired?

The team also saw some axonal regeneration in mice without syntaphilin that experienced severe spinal cord injury. However, lack of the protein alone was not enough to coax the axons to grow past the injured tissue.

Is spinal nerve damage permanent?

A spinal cord injury — damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal (cauda equina) — often causes permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury.

Can the spine heal itself?

Unlike other parts of your body, the spinal cord does not have the ability to repair itself if it is damaged. A spinal cord injury occurs when there is damage to the spinal cord either from trauma, loss of its normal blood supply, or compression from tumor or infection.

What happens if you have a complete spinal cord injury?

For complete injuries in the cervical spine, however, this often leads to a loss of motor function in the lower and upper body (tetraplegia, which is also known as quadriplegia). Incomplete SCIs commonly result from compression or damage being inflicted to the spinal cord that reduces the brain’s ability to send signals below the injury site.

What is the most serious injury to the spine?

Spinal cord damage which corresponds to vertebrae within the cervical spine is the most serious and can result in loss of function to all areas below the neck, including the arms and legs. Paralysis to all four limbs is known as quadriplegia. Thoracic Injuries: The thoracic section of the spine (T1-T12) forms the upper portion of the backbone.

What happens if the lumbar vertebrae are damaged?

These lumbar vertebrae contain spinal cord tissue and nerves which control communication between the brain and the legs. Damage to the lumbar spinal cord subsequently affects the hips and groin area, and may impact the lower abdominal muscles and thigh flexion as well.

Can a spinal cord injury cause paralysis below the waist?

For an injury impacting the lumbar spinal cord, for example, it can lead to paralysis below the waist while preserving your motor functions in your upper body and arms (paraplegia).