Spinal Injury Facts and Treatments

Learn about the basic details of spinal injuries--as well as essential information about diagnosis, non-operative treatments, and surgical solutions.

The spine is critical to healthy skeletal and muscular structure and function. Unfortunately, spinal injuries are much more common than many might assume.

Even relatively minor injuries can have a lasting impact and cause serious disability, particularly in cases where the spinal cord becomes compressed or destabilized. For this reason, if you believe you or someone you love has experienced a spinal injury, it is crucial that you are examined by a doctor who will determine the best treatment options for your spinal injury.

Fast Facts About Spinal Injuries

A spinal injury is a dramatic injury. These quick facts will help you to familiarize yourself with the risks and details of spinal injuries.

• Each year, approximately 12,000 to 15,000 Americans suffer from injuries to the spinal cord.

• Of those injured, 10,000 patients are permanently paralyzed.

• Most injuries to the spinal cord result from the trauma that damages spinal cord cells or severs the spinal nerve tracts.

• The two most common types of spinal injury include contusion (bruising of the spinal cord) and compression (harmful pressure on the spinal cord).

• Other common spinal injuries include: central cord syndrome (damage to the spinal cord’s cervical section) and lacerations of nerve fibers.

• Traumatic accidents may result in a spinal injury. These include car accidents, sports injuries, physical trauma and battery, workplace accidents, and firearms injuries. Any source of sudden, severe shock can cause a spinal injury.

• Patients with osteoarthritis or osteoporosis are much more susceptible to spinal injuries.

The Spinal Injury Treatment Process

A physical evaluation is the first step you need to take to ensure your condition is properly diagnosed and treated. Here is some helpful information about the essentials of spinal injury treatment and rehabilitation.

1. Diagnosis
   The first step of the treatment process is, naturally, the official diagnosis of your condition. During your examination, your doctor will look for fractured spinal bones or dislodging of the spinal discs. The orthopaedic specialist will be inspecting the spine for abnormalities. Another common indicator of spinal damage is fluid accumulation within or around the spinal cord, which causes bleeding and swelling. These physical symptoms may lead to the diagnosis of two most common spinal injury conditions (mentioned above): contusion or compression.

2. Non-Surgical Spinal Treatments
   The most common non-invasive treatment following a spinal injury is the administering of steroid drugs (including methylprednisolone), which helps to reduce inflammation to the injured spinal area and prevents additional cellular membrane and nerve damage. If additional stabilization is needed to correct misalignment or treat spinal compression, surgery may be the next step in order to repair the spine structure.

3. Surgical Treatment
   In recent years, surgical spinal cord injury care has experienced numerous spinal cord injury treatment breakthroughs and improvements. If fusion surgery is recommended in your particular case, spinal instrumentation will be used to restore stability to the damaged spine. Fusion entails the implantation of bone with rods, hooks, wire, or screws to restructure the spinal cord and allow bone to grow between the injured vertebrae. The recovery process following surgery will vary depending on the severity of the injury, but will generally require several weeks of activity restrictions.

These are some of the basic spinal cord injury treatment guidelines. With proper treatment under the care of Rothman Orthopaedic Institute specialists, you can look forward to a dramatic recovery. Proper spinal cord injury care can mean the difference between long-term disability and the restoration of a normal, mobile lifestyle.

If you’re interested in learning more about spinal cord injuries and treatments, visit us here or contact us at 1-800-321-9999.