Spinal Cord Trauma is damage to the spinal cord. It may result from direct injury to the cord itself or indirectly from disease of the surrounding bones, tissues, or blood vessels.
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes changes in its function, either temporary or permanent. These changes translate into loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in parts of the body served by the spinal cord below the level of the lesion. Injuries can occur at any level of the spinal cord and can be classified as complete injury, a total loss of sensation and muscle function, or incomplete, meaning some nervous signals are able to travel past the injured area of the cord. Depending on the location and severity of damage along the spinal cord, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain or numbness toparalysis to incontinence. The prognosis also ranges widely, from full recovery in rare cases to permanent tetraplegia (also called quadriplegia) in injuries at the level of the neck, and paraplegia in lower injuries. Complications that can occur in the short and long term after injury include muscle atrophy, pressure sores, infections, and respiratory problems.
Causes :
The spinal cord contains the nerves that carry messages between your brain and body. The cord passes through your neck and back.
Spinal cord trauma can be caused by injuries to the spine, such as:
- Assault.
- Falls.
- Gunshot wounds.
- Industrial accidents.
- Motor vehicle accidents.
- Sports injuries.
A minor injury can damage the spinal cord if the spine is weakened, such as from rheumatoid arthritisor osteoporosis. Injury can also occur if the spinal canal protecting the spinal cord has become too narrow (spinal stenosis) due to the normal aging process. Direct injury, such as bruises, can occur to the spinal cord if the bones or disks have been weakened. Fragments of bone (such as from broken vertebrae, which are the spine bones) or fragments of metal (such as from a traffic accident or gunshot) can damage the spinal cord.
Symptoms :
Symptoms vary depending on the location of the injury. Spinal cord injury causes weakness and loss of feeling at, and below the injury. How severe symptoms are depends on whether the entire cord is severely injured (complete) or only partially injured (incomplete).
An injury at and below the first lumbar vertebra does not cause spinal cord injury. But it may cause cauda equina syndrome. This is an injury to the nerve roots in this area. This type of spinal cord injury is a medical emergency and needs surgery right away.
Injuries of the spinal cord at any level can cause:
- Increased muscle tone (spasticity),
- Loss of normal bowel and bladder control (may include constipation, incontinence, bladder spasms),
- Numbness,
- Sensory changes,
- Paralysis,
- Pain,
- Weakness
Dr. Shailesh Hadgaonkar, at Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Pune is an expert Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon and has expert knowledge and a great deal of expertise in treating spinal trauma.
