Over 10,000
people in the US suffer a spinal cord
injury, also called SCI, each year. SCI
is defined as any damage to the spinal
cord that results in loss of function
or mobility. Such injuries can be caused
by trauma or disease and can result in
temporary or permanent loss of sensation,
loss of movement (paralysis), or loss
of bowel or bladder control. Auto accidents
are the primary cause but violence-related
accidents have been increasing steadily
as a cause of SCI’s. Falls and sports
accidents also cause many SCI’s each year.
There are two types of injury – compete
and incomplete. A compete injury is one
in which the victim has no sensation or
voluntary motor movement on either side
of the body below the level of the injury.
If the victim has some feeling or partial
movement, it is called an incomplete injury.
Injuries are usually defined with reference
to the area of the spine affected. Nerves
in the spine are defined by the area of
the vertebrae – an injury to the spine
in the neck area will affect the cervical
vertebrae – injury to the nerves at the
fifth cervical vertebra is called a C-5
injury, for instance. Below the neck are
the thoracic vertebrae, so injuries there
are defined as T-1, etc. Then there are
lumbar and sacral vertebrae.
Generally speaking, neck injuries will
lead to paralysis of all limbs (quadriplegia)
while thoracic injuries cause paralysis
to the lower limbs only (paraplegia).
Both areas have variations in the amount
of dysfunction, depending on the severity
of the injury. An incomplete cervical
injury can leave the patient with some
hand use, while a complete injury at C-4
can require the patient to be on a ventilator.
Thoracic injuries can leave the arms functional
but interfere with walking, bowel and
bladder control, and sexual function.
Other functions that can be affected are
blood pressure, body temperature, and
pain levels.
A spinal cord injury usually involves
swelling of the spinal cord which affects
the whole body. When the swelling goes
down, the patient may regain function
months or years after the injury but it
is rare for all functioning to be recovered.
Treatment presently consists of stabilizing
any broken vertebrae, maintaining the
patient, preventing movement to the injured
area, and reducing swelling. There is
no cure for SCI but stem cell research
has shown some signs of being useful in
the future. |
