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A spinal cord injury is an injury that affects any part of the spinal cord or the cauda equina.  The symptoms are experienced in different ways physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally, it changes the day to day activities of the individual. There are numerous etiologies ranging from traumatic causes to non- traumatic occurs. The spinal cord injury is often due to damage of the vertebra, ligaments, disk, or spinal cord itself. The symptoms vary depending on its etiology and severity. There are numerous rehabilitation and treatment centers that enable people living with spinal cord injury to recover rapidly and live a productive life.

The signs and symptoms depend on the part of the spinal cord affected, When the cervical portion of the spinal cord is affected, neck movements are Impaired, whereas, damage to the thoracic or lumbar vertebra could affect other functions such as bladder control, walking, and sexual potency.

 

Causes of Spinal Cord Injury

 

The leading causes of spinal cord injury can be classified as traumatic or non-traumatic etiologies. Spinal injury cam is due to traumatic events such as gunshot wound, knife injury, accidents, or collisions. Non – traumatic events such as inflammation, cancer, arthritis, and infections. The most common causes of spinal injury include:

Risk Factors for Spinal Injury

 

Although traumatic and non-traumatic injury been the leading cause of spinal injury in most people, There are some risk factors that increase your chance of having a spinal injury. The most common risk factors include:

Signs and Symptoms of Spinal Injury

 

There are numerous signs and symptoms of spinal injury depending on its location and severity. A spinal injury can be described as complete or incomplete. The complete spinal injury is a type of injury that is characterized by total loss of sensory and motor function below the site of injury, whereas, the Incomplete spinal injury is type of injury with partial loss of sensory and motor function.  Spinal injury can also be classified as tetraplegia or paraplegia depending on the part of the body affected.

There are some common signs and symptoms of spinal injury irrespective of the type. The signs and symptoms include:

Emergency Signs and Symptoms of Spinal Injury

 

There are some general signs and symptoms of spinal injury; however, there are some emergency symptoms that could be very dangerous, if not attended to quickly. The following are the emergency signs and symptoms of spinal injury:

What are the different types of spinal cord injuries?

 

Spinal cord injuries can be classified as complete or incomplete spinal injury depending on the degree of sensory and motor function lost in the person.

The signs and symptoms experienced depend on the part of the spinal cord affected. Injury below the lumbar spinal cord often causes nerve pain without severe loss of motor and sensory function. However, injury blow the sacral part of the spinal cord affects the sexual and bowel function.

There are different types of incomplete spinal injury such as:

 

How long does it take to recover from a spinal cord injury?

 

The recovery period forms a spinal injury depends on a lot of factors such as location and severity of the injury. However, most people recover in 6 months or 12 to 18 months in severe cases.

 

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References

 

Spinal Cord Injury Levels, Types of Spinal Cord Injuries. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.shepherd.org/patient-programs/spinal-cord-injury/about/levels-and-types

Types. (2018). Retrieved from https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/back-neck-and-spine/spinal-cord-injury/types.html

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries | SpinalCord.com. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.spinalcord.com/types-of-spinal-cord-injuries