Spinal cord injuries can
cause widespread and sustained brain inflammation
that leads to progressive loss of nerve cells, with associated cognitive problems and depression, researchers have found for the first time.
How does the spinal cord affect the brain?
The brain and spinal cord are your body’s central nervous system. The brain is the command center for your body, and the spinal cord is
the pathway for messages sent by the brain to the body and from the body to the brain
.
Can spinal cord injury cause neurological problems?
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an injury to the spinal cord that results in temporary or permanent changes in the spinal cord’s normal motor, sensory, or autonomic function. People who sustain a spinal cord injury often have
permanent and profound neurologic deficits
and accompanying disability.
How does spinal cord injury affect the body?
Spinal cord injuries can be complete or incomplete (partial): Complete: A complete injury causes
total paralysis (loss of function)
below the level of the injury. It affects both sides of the body. A complete injury may cause paralysis of all four limbs (quadriplegia) or the lower half of the body (paraplegia).
Does spinal cord injury affect memory?
Spinal cord injury will affect motor and sensory functions, but
it will not cause memory loss
. However, a co-occurring traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause memory loss.
Can you fully recover from a spinal cord injury?
In very rare cases, people with spinal cord injury will regain some functioning years after the injury. However,
only a small fraction of individuals sustaining a spinal cord injury recover all function
.
Is a spinal cord injury a chronic condition?
Chronic spinal cord injury refers to
a permanent and/or progressive interruption in the conduction of impulses across the neurons and tracts of the spinal cord
. It may be due to mechanical distortion or vascular ischemia of the spinal cord arising from trauma, tumor, infection, or other space-occupying lesions.
Does a spinal cord injury shorten your life?
Life expectancy depends on the severity of the injury, where on the spine the injury
occurs and age
. Life expectancy after injury ranges from 1.5 years for a ventilator-dependent patient older than 60 to 52.6 years for a 20-year-old patient with preserved motor function.
What is the life expectancy of someone with a spinal cord injury?
Life expectancy after injury ranges from
1.5 years for a ventilator-dependent patient older than 60 to 52.6 years for a 20-year-old patient with preserved motor function
. Fatal complications of spinal cord injury include blood clots and sepsis due to pneumonia, urinary infections or pressure sores.
Can you walk after a spinal cord injury?
Difficulty walking is very common
following a spinal cord injury (SCI). People with an “incomplete” SCI have more potential to regain walking than those with a “complete” SCI, but people with both types of SCI may have gait training included in their therapy plans.
How does a spinal injury occur?
A traumatic spinal cord injury may stem from
a sudden, traumatic blow to your spine that fractures, dislocates, crushes or compresses one or more of your vertebrae
. It may also result from a gunshot or knife wound that penetrates and cuts your spinal cord.
Can a neck injury cause dementia?
A small study that looks beyond the brain suggests that vascular changes in the neck may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Studies on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have long focused on what’s happening inside the brain.
How long do you stay in the hospital after a spinal cord injury?
The average hospital stay immediately following a spinal cord injury is
11 days
. Many injury survivors then transition to rehabilitative facilities, at which the average stay is 36 days.
Can a spinal cord injury get worse?
It
usually gets worse with movement and better with rest
. Upper limb (shoulder, elbow and hand) pain is often caused by overuse of the muscles from doing transfers and pressure relief maneuvers and from pushing a wheelchair. It can occur months or many years after injury.
How rare is a spinal stroke?
Spinal strokes are a rare condition. They are less common than strokes that affect the brain. They account for
1.25% of all strokes
.
