Why Spine Care is Important!

 

The spine is certainly one of the most important parts of the body and an injury can drastically alter the quality of life of the afflicted person!

 

Although a small injury will often heal itself after a period of rest, more serious injuries will often require comprehensive treatment. For that reason it is important to seek a professional diagnosis soon after the injury has been experienced, so that the appropriate path of care can be arranged.

Serious Spinal Injury

 

In medical terms the spinal cord is broken down into sections. It is worth noting that the higher up the injury is, the more chance there is that long-lasting damage will occur. If you are unfortunate enough to damage your spine at the very top then the chance of paralysis is quite high! Other symptoms of an injury in this area could be the inability to breathe properly, the inability to speak properly and a general need for assistance with basic daily activities, such as washing and eating.

 

These are the most severe of the symptoms and the injury would usually have to have been quite forceful. The further down the spine the injury occurs the less severe these secondary problems will be, but could still at any rate be life changing!

 

Effects of Spinal Injury

 

The effects of a spinal injury are so drastic because damage will often prevent adequate communication between your brain and the rest of your body. This of course has far-reaching implications and your reflexes and motor neurons will more than likely experience a deficit.

 

Protecting the Spine

 

There are several things that you can do to protect your spine and help to prevent pain and other problems in this area. 

 

 

Exercising your core muscles in order to strengthen them is one great way to protect your spine. This also makes it less likely that you will experience lower back pain. 

 

Good posture is also somewhat essential when it comes to protecting the spine. If you do not have good posture, then you will be putting pressure on parts of your body, or causing an imbalance. Paying attention to your posture is a good idea, and is something that you can work to correct over time. 

 

Treatment Options

 

However you have experienced your injury, it is important to see a specialist straight away, and at Onto Orthopedics, this is something we especially advise! As soon as you are discharged from the hospital after an incident that involves the spine, you should seek the further treatment of an orthopedic doctor.

 

Common accidents that lead to spinal injuries are road accidents, sports injuries, a serious fall and even a violent attack. However, spinal injury can also occur through illness, such as if a person is experiencing inflammation of the spinal cord or conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and arthritis.

 

Statistics show that men aged between 16 and 30 are the group of people who are most likely to experience a spinal injury and this is thought to be because they indulge in riskier behaviours than other groups of people. That’s not to say that everyone else isn’t at risk, but that males in this age group have historically been more prone to injure themselves in this way.

 

References

 

1) http://www.medicinenet.com/spinal_cord_injury_treatments_and_rehabilitation/

2) http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/448/Nervous-System.html