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Spinal cord injury treatment options

A spinal cord injury is always severe regardless of how serious the damage is. This is mainly because the body relies heavily upon the spinal cord for different body functions. There are many people in New York who have been involved in an accident that has caused an SPI. According to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, damage to the spinal cord cannot be fixed and is always permanent. 

As soon as an SPI occurs, medical care is needed to help minimize damage by stabilizing the spine as soon as possible. Medical personnel may also want to do surgery to help reduce strain on the spinal cord. Patients may be given medications or put in traction. The initial rush is to try to prevent any more damage to the spinal cord.

Treatment focuses on helping people with SCIs to be able to function in their daily lives. A person may undergo physical, recreational and vocational therapy. They may be taught how to cope with pain, how to eat healthy, how to exercise and how to communicate. The treatments will depend on the location of the spinal injury and how it affects the person. For example, someone whose injury impairs only leg movement will not need the same therapy and treatment as someone whose injury impairs them from the neck down.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there are new inventions and ideas that are helping to advance the treatment of SCIs. These include things like better wheelchairs that can move along different types of terrains and devices that are computer controlled. Electronic devices can help to expand a person’s abilities to do activities, like hold a spoon, and some even help those who are paralyzed to walk. 

Related Posts: Facts about spinal cord injuries, Coping with a spinal cord injury, Upper spine injured in an accident? Prepare for major setbacks, Seeking damages for brain injury after motor vehicle accident, P.4

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