Your Body, Your Health: Spine 101
Egon Catral provides advice in finding a personal trainer to help with your fitness needs.
Your spinal column is a necessary part of your body. It has numerous roles that allow you to function normally each day. But what happens when you suddenly injure or hurt your spinal cord? Are there kinds of spinal injuries? Would there be long-term effects on how you view life and do daily tasks? Would it be expensive to treat spinal injuries? We will answer these questions and learn more in the following segment.
Some spine fundamentals
Our body has bones known as vertebrae. These bones form the spine. The spine also has what medical practitioners call the spinal cord. It is a collection of nerves responsible for one of the most crucial responsibilities in the human body. These nerves transmit and spread messages to and from the brain to the rest of the body. Your spinal cord runs along a small section in the center of the spinal bone segments. The entire spinal column is sensitive. That means you have to take care of it and avoid any injuries that can harm your spinal column. Why? Any injuries you sustain might have long-term effects.
Common Spinal Injuries
We can divide spinal injuries into two main categories: complete and incomplete.
A complete spinal injury is where a victim can no longer feel or move any body part below the affected area. These are more complex and severe than incomplete injuries. There exist three kinds of complete spinal injuries:
- Tetraplegia - This kind of injury is the most severe of its kind. Such an injury will paralyze the victim. Not only that, but it can also affect their limbs.
- Paraplegia - Paraplegia is when a victim loses all sensation and movement of all body parts below the affected area.
- Triplegia - Incomplete spinal cord injuries can have complications over time. This aspect will lead to Triplegia. Triplegia is an injury where an individual has three limbs that succumb to paralysis.
While an incomplete spinal injury allows a victim to have some form of movement and sensation left in body parts below the affected area, they are also a lot more common than complete spinal injuries. Like their injury counterparts, incomplete spinal injuries also have three primary variations:
- Anterior cord syndrome - This kind of spine injury happens in the column's front area and affects the sensory and motor pathways.
- Central cord syndrome - A central cord injury happens in the center of a spinal column. With this kind of injury, the nerves receive the bulk of the damage.
- Brown-Sequard syndrome - This kind of injury happens to the sides of a person’s spinal column.
Spinal cord injuries can cause at least one more of the following:
- Fertility issues
- Changes in sexual stimulation and activity
- Difficulties in breathing
- Releasing secretions from the lungs
- Heavy coughing
- Intense pain along the spinal column
- Exaggeration in spasms and reflex activities
- Bladder control loss
- Bowel movement control loss
- Challenges in walking
- Loss of movement
- Sensation alteration
- Complete numbness to heat or cold
- Difficulty balancing or walking
- And so on
What Are The Causes Of Spinal Cord Injuries?
Falls - responsible for most spinal cord injuries happening in most parts of the world.
Diseases - Several diseases can also cause spinal cord injuries. Such diseases and conditions include cancer, arthritis, scoliosis, and more.
Motor vehicle accidents - Motor vehicle accidents can also affect the spinal area. A recent study shows that car accidents are responsible for at least sixty per cent of the year’s total spinal cord injuries.
Recreational activity incidents - Simple incidents can also lead to crucial spinal injuries during sporting activities and games.
When Should You See A Doctor?
You may see a doctor once you or someone you know becomes the victim of a spine injury. It would be best to immediately rush to one once the signs and symptoms become more prominent after an injury. Not only that, but spinal column injuries may not show up immediately. So it would be wise to see a health professional or physician so you can check for any conditions. Doing so allows you to find any possible treatment or surgery plans available in your area.
Looking Online For Help
It is also a wise choice to seek assistance using the internet. You will not find any shortage of medical companies and organizations that offer spinal cord injury treatment. Not only that, but you can also locate any spinal injury professional near you. Searching online will also land you the best spine pain management Columbia MD has to offer.
Looking for professional assistance online is relatively a walk in the park. However, you better clarify that the company or entity you seek help from is legitimate. Make sure that their website allows you to see several of the following:
- Medical certificates and documentation that proves their operation is legal
- Previous client reviews
- A physical office location or address
- Names and contact information of medical practitioners
- The owner of a site is readily available.
It would be wise to make sure you work with a legitimate medical operating agency or practitioner. After all, you are dealing with health. That is why you have to be careful before you agree to anything. In addition, you should also be vigilant with the details and information you dictate or give out as you fill in forms and other documentation. Doing so will protect you, your financial assets, and your overall privacy.
Conclusion
It would be best if you never took spinal cord injuries and conditions for granted. Whenever you or a family member or friend suffers a spinal injury, it would be best to take them to a doctor. A lot of spinal conditions do not readily showcase themselves. So, preparing for them will be a huge bonus point.
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- CATRAL, E. (2021) Your Body, Your Health: Spine 101 [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article676.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Egon Catral is a freelance journalist.