Spinal Cord Injury

The spinal cord is an extension of the brain and is made up of a thick bundle of nerves. The nerves carry messages from our brain to the rest of our body. These messages help us to move our body, feel pressure and control vital functions like breathing, blood pressure, bladder and bowels. When the spinal cord is damaged, the communication between our brain and the rest of our body is disrupted, resulting in a loss of movement and sensation from below the level of injury. Damage to the spinal cord can be caused by a trauma like an car or bike accident, or as a result of infection or disease.

The higher up you damage the spinal cord, the more movement and sensation you may have lost.

Damage to your spinal cord in your back may result in paraplegia. Paraplegia affects the movement and sensation in your legs and possibly some abdominal muscles.

Damage to the spinal cord in your neck may result in tetraplegia. Tetraplegia affects movement and sensation in all four limbs, as well as abdominal and some chest muscles.

It is important to be aware that the loss of movement and sensation will vary from person to person, even with those who have damaged their spinal cord in the same place.

The use of letters and numbers refers to the level of your injury. If you have injured the spinal cord in your neck, you will have injured one of your cervical nerves (1-8). An injury like this would be referred to as C1 etc. If you have injured the spinal cord in your back, you will have injured either thoracic nerves (1-12) or lumber nerves (1-5). A back injury would be referred to as T6, L1 etc.

Complete or incomplete injury refers to the type of injury you have sustained. If both sides of your body are affected and there is no muscle function or voluntary movement or sensation from the injury level and below, then your injury is complete. Healthcare professionals might refer to your injury as C1/T6/L3 complete. If you have some muscle function below your injury, such as being able to move one limb or you still have some sensation then your injury is incomplete. Healthcare professionals might refer to your injury as C2/T8/L2 incomplete. As emergency and medical treatment advances, incomplete injuries are more common.

After your initial injury you are likely to be in hospital for a period of three to nine months, depending on your level of injury, to recover and rehabilitate. It is not possible to be exact with the length of time, as it will vary according to your individual needs.

It may take a number of years for you to reach your full potential following your injury and even then you could still make small improvements in your function. As the spinal cord recovers from the shock of the injury, you may make some progress with movement and/or sensation. Although progress and adaptation is possible, it is important to remember that there is not yet any repair for spinal cord injury, but research into this continues.

Although spinal cord injury may disrupt the plans and activities you had, life does go on and it can be as rich and fulfilling as before.

Even though sex and fertility can be affected, both spinal cord injured men and women can go on to have satisfying sex lives and can become parents.

Some people return to their previous jobs, whilst others use the opportunity to retrain for a new profession and/or start new hobbies.

At TherapyMatters we work with people who have Spinal Cord Injuries and we help them to improve from their injuries and to develop their strength and movement control when possible - as well as to manage the functional problems that they have in their day to day lives. People with spinal cord injuries can present with balance and strength issues, effecting their walking, stability, reaching and grasping objects, as well as their endurance and stamina. Many people with Spinal cord injuries will need to use a wheelchair at times, or even full time. We are a skilled team of neurological physiotherapists and we are able to assess you and work with you through a rehabilitation programme to help you reach your best potential functional activity and to help you be as active and fit as you can be. We have worked with many patients who are athletes and who are developing their sporting as well as their functional skills. Please phone us if you want to discuss this or have any questions to ask - we are happy to chat and we are sure that we would be able to help you with your rehabilitation.