What Are The Signs Of Spine Injury?

Back injuries are more common today due to the increase in the activities that we carry out on a daily basis. With so much pressure placed on our muscles, it is easy to cause strains or injury. But sometimes, the condition gets a bit serious, and it leads to spinal cord injury as well.

Initially, people ignored the condition and lately dealt with some more problems. For better understanding, here we are discussing spine injury in detail!

What is Spine Injury?

A spinal cord injury or Spine Injury is a type of trauma that damages the spinal cord and thus disrupts or prevents the functions controlled by it. The severity of a spinal cord injury varies greatly depending on which levels are damaged if any are damaged, and how much function is lost.

In simple words, Spine injury is caused when compression of the spinal cord occurs in an area below the neck. It includes damage to vertebral discs in the spine.

Types of spinal cord injury:

There are two types of Spinal Cord Injury. These are:-

Incomplete spine injury

Incomplete spinal cord injuries are more common than complete injuries. The majority of spinal cord injuries are not severe but rather incomplete. This is because the doctors have experience dealing with certain conditions. Thus, to avoid any complications, medical professionals are usually the best person to treat them. There are three common types of incomplete spinal injuries:

• Anterior Cord Syndrome: It happens in the front of the spinal cord damaging the sensory pathways.
• Central Cord Syndrome: It happens in the center and involves nerve damage.
• Brown-Square Syndrome: It happens when one side of the spinal cord has an injury.

Complete Spine Injury

Complete spinal cord injuries are rare. There are three types of complete spinal cord injuries:

• Tetraplegia: this is the condition affecting every limb.
• Paraplegia: It happens when a person loses complete movement and sensation of body parts.
• Triplegia: This is the condition that happens due to irresponsive treatment in case of incomplete spinal surgery.

Signs & Symptoms of Spinal Cord Injury:

The common symptoms and signs of spine injury, people experience with spinal cord injury are as follows:-

• Inability to feel heat, cold, and touch
• Loss of movement
• Exaggerated reflex activities or spasms
• Loss of or altered sensation,
• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Changes in sexual function
• You might become sexually sensitive
• Infertility
• Pain or an intense sensation happens due to damage to the nerve fibers in the spinal cord
• Difficulty breathing,
• coughing or clearing secretions from lungs

Along with that, some emergency symptoms are also there that are needed to look out. This includes:-

• Numbness
• Loss of control over reflex actions
• Constant and severe back pain
• Headache
• Loss of sensations in all parts of the body
• Paralysis
• Lack of coordination
• Difficulty in walking
• Posture changes

Treatment for Spine Injury:

Unfortunately, there is no permanent solution to treat spine injury. But some medications can be helpful in preventing further progress. Researchers have come up with some prostheses and medications which contribute to nerve cell regeneration and improve nerve functioning for treating spinal cord injury. Along with that, some major steps taken by the neurosurgeon include:-

Emergency actions:

At the very first, emergency actions are taken into consideration. These are helpful in minimizing the effects of overhead or neck. After minimizing certain effects, the actual treatment for treating spinal cord injury started.

Along with that, doctors consider a rigid neck collar and a rigid carrying board for transferring the patient to the hospital.

Early Stages Treatment:

If the condition is not serious, usually the neurosurgeon puts a person on medications only.

When they see there is no response to medication, they look out for surgery and some experimental treatment. But majorly, they let a person be on medications for treating such conditions.

Thankfully when you approach a neurosurgeon, they will let you know about the extent of the injury and conclude about the best treatment. Along with that, ongoing care is important because if a person is not paying attention to aftercare, they will not be able to get rid of it.

Diagnosis of Spinal Cord Injury:

Diagnosis of spinal cord injury will be made through the imaging test. The imaging test includes:-

X-ray:

X-ray is helpful in revealing the vertebral problems, including fractures, tumors, and degenerative changes that take place in the spine.

CT-Scan:

CT-Scan is helpful in getting a clear image of abnormalities through the cross-sectional images and diagnosing some other problems as well.

MRI:

Magnetic fields and radio waves are used to produce computer-generated images in magnetic resonance imaging. It is helpful in identifying the problem on the desk and giving clear details considering the problem.

When to See a Doctor?

Well, if you are noticing out any symptoms, it is important to reach out to the doctor as soon as possible. In the inertial days, chances are there you might not have an encounter with any symptom, but when you notice it out, don’t delay in reaching out to the neurosurgeon.

For the people of Rajasthan, there is an advantage that they can get in touch with Dr. Himanshu Gupta. He is one of the best Neurosurgeons in Jaipur, having years of experience in treating such conditions.