Question

Why can determining if a person has permanent loss of function due to a spinal cord injury until 1-3 weeks following the injury?

Answer 1

Why can determining if a person has permanent loss of function due to a spinal cord injury until 1-3 weeks following the injury?

People with spinal cord injuries may experience a loss of function around the body. This loss of function can be permanent. However, some people do make a full recovery. Spinal cord injuries may be permanent because it's direct damage to the nerves that send signals to the brain that controls many of our functions.

The severity of the injury is often called "the completeness" and is classified as either of the following:

•Complete. If all feeling (sensory) and all ability to control movement (motor function) are lost below the spinal cord injury, your injury is called complete.

•Incomplete. If you have some motor or sensory function below the affected area, your injury is called incomplete. There are varying degrees of incomplete injury.

The permanent loss of function after spinal cord injury depends on how severe the injury is. For example, people with complete spinal cord injuries have a less chance of recovery, and have permanent loss of function. A complete injury is more severe, preventing all the nerve signals from traveling through the spinal cord. People with incomplete injuries will often regain some function.

Two main factors go into a spinal cord injury: Where it happened and how much damage was done.

Location : When the upper part of the spine is injured, the total injury tends to be more severe. There’s a risk of losing movement and sensation in arms, legs, trunk, and have difficulty with speech. The injured person may need assistance with breathing and other daily activities.

Completeness: If a person gets lose all feeling and motor function below the injury site, then it’s called complete. An incomplete injury means the person still has some feeling or motor function.

Your health care team will perform a series of tests to determine permanent loss of function due to a spinal cord injury, the neurological level and completeness of your injury.

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Pain or an intense stinging sensation caused by damage to the nerve fibers in your spinal cord

· Difficulty breathing, coughing or clearing secretions from your lungs

Loss of movement

· Loss or altered sensation, including the ability to feel heat, cold and touch

· Loss of bowel or bladder control

· Exaggerated reflex activities or spasms

· Changes in sexual function, sexual sensitivity and fertility·