DMX: Injuries and pain that can change your life: Spinal Cord Injuries

Understanding your spinal cord and what happens if it is injured in a car accident.

Your spinal cord is made up of a bundle of nerves from the waist that connects to the bottom of your brain which makes up your Central Nervous System.

It carries nerve impulses to and from the brain that initiates movement and sends sensory information to your brain; such as heat, pressure, texture, etc.

Your spinal cord is protected by vertebrae that surround the spinal cord.  This vertebrae plays an important role when you are in a car accident.  If just the vertebrae is injured than paralysis and/or disabilities may not be permanent so think of it as your guard dog. 

Car accidents are the cause for about 35% of spinal cord injuries which is the leading cause of spinal cord injuries.  It is estimated that about 10,000 people suffer spinal cord injuries PER YEAR. 

When you have a spinal cord injury:  these type of injuries can result in the loss of feeling, mobility or both.  These symptoms can come from just "damaging" the spinal cord.  Paralysis is determined on where the spinal cord is damaged or severed.  If the spinal cord injury is higher up to the neck it can affect both your arms and legs where damage lower will often only affect the legs.  

Other than paralysis injuries to the spinal cord include organ malfunction, loss of bowl and bladder control, ability to control body temperature, blood pressure and sexual functions.

As much as I wish I had the ability to control all factors while I'm on the road...this is not possible.  What is possible is what you do before.  You can keep your body healthy.  Strengthen your body with exercise.  Vertebrae are protected by muscle.  Certain exercises can help you strengthen the muscle and providing you a little more protection.

Don't settle for the old X-rays....choose Digital Motion X-Ray!  

Please like Colorado Car Wreck | Your Auto Injury Clinic on Facebook or visit their website.

Dr. Jere Sutton of the Colorado Car Wreck is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon

Spinal Cord injuries

Understanding your spinal cord and what happens if it is injured in a car accident.

Your spinal cord is made up of a bundle of nerves from the waist that connects to the bottom of your brain which makes up your Central Nervous System.

It carries nerve impulses to and from the brain that initiates movement and sends sensory information to your brain; such as heat, pressure, texture, etc.

Your spinal cord is protected by vertebrae that surround the spinal cord.  This vertebrae plays an important role when you are in a car accident.  If just the vertebrae is injured than paralysis and/or disabilities may not be permanent so think of it as your guard dog. 

Car accidents are the cause for about 35% of spinal cord injuries which is the leading cause of spinal cord injuries.  It is estimated that about 10,000 people suffer spinal cord injuries PER YEAR. 

When you have a spinal cord injury:  these type of injuries can result in the loss of feeling, mobility or both.  These symptoms can come from just "damaging" the spinal cord.  Paralysis is determined on where the spinal cord is damaged or severed.  If the spinal cord injury is higher up to the neck it can affect both your arms and legs where damage lower will often only affect the legs.  

Other than paralysis injuries to the spinal cord include organ malfunction, loss of bowl and bladder control, ability to control body temperature, blood pressure and sexual functions.

As much as I wish I had the ability to control all factors while I'm on the road...this is not possible.  What is possible is what you do before.  You can keep your body healthy.  Strengthen your body with exercise.  Vertebrae are protected by muscle.  Certain exercises can help you strengthen the muscle and providing you a little more protection.

Please like Colorado Car Wreck | Your Auto Injury Clinic on Facebook or visit their website.

Tell me about your story.

What is Spinal Cord Injury? Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling. Frequent causes of damage are trauma (car accident, gunshot, falls, etc.) or disease (polio, spina bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia, etc.). The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur. In fact, in most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning. SCI is very different from back injuries such as ruptured disks, spinal stenosis or pinched nerves.
A person can "break their back or neck" yet not sustain a spinal cord injury if only the bones around the spinal cord (the vertebrae) are damaged, but the spinal cord is not affected. In these situations, the individual may not experience paralysis after the bones are stabilized.
What is the spinal cord and the vertebra? The spinal cord is about 18 inches long and extends from the base of the brain, down the middle of the back, to about the waist. The nerves that lie within the spinal cord are upper motor neurons (UMNs) and their function is to carry the messages back and forth from the brain to the spinal nerves along the spinal tract. The spinal nerves that branch out from the spinal cord to the other parts of the body are called lower motor neurons (LMNs). These spinal nerves exit and enter at each vertebral level and communicate with specific areas of the body. The sensory portions of the LMN carry messages about sensation from the skin and other body parts and organs to the brain. The motor portions of the LMN send messages from the brain to the various body parts to initiate actions such as muscle movement.(http://www.spinalinjury.net/html/_spinal_cord_101.html)

Car Accidents can cause numerous problems to the body. Spinal cord injuries can affect your hands, arms, legs and feet.  Depending where the injury will determine what other parts of your body will be affected. A neck injury can affect your arm while a back injury can affect your legs. When you are involved in a car accident and you don't "feel" any injuries seek medical attention anyway. It may take several weeks before any injuries will be discovered.

At Colorado Car Wreck you will get the attention YOU deserve and need. 

Like Colorado Car Wreck | The Auto Injury clinic on Facebook