Can You Recover From A Spinal Cord Injury?

On behalf of Lovett Law Firm posted in Spinal Cord Injuries on Tuesday, February 2, 2016.

Is it easy to recover from a spinal injury? What can patients do to help themselves? The truth is that these injuries can vary significantly, and no two cases will be treated exactly the same. Patients may have to face the fact that few treatments are available, but new treatments could have potential.

Each year, between 250,000 and 500,000 people around the world suffer from these injuries, and many face a life of permanent injuries or symptoms. Recovering from a spinal cord injury isn’t the same as recovering from other kinds of injuries. The spinal cord, once damaged, may not heal and usually doesn’t. The nerves there can be cut off from the rest of the body, resulting in paralysis below the point of injury. Unfortunately, because of the way the body works, these nerves won’t regrow if they’ve been completely severed, and paralysis is usually permanent.

On top of the initial injury, those with spinal cord injuries may also suffer secondary injuries. These can result in further damage. For instance, some people may struggle to control their body temperatures or have problems with inflammation.

There’s not much a patient can do other than to follow the advice of a doctor. New technology is being invented and researched; someday, what is currently considered a permanent injury could be cured. Increasing the blood flow to the site of injury, reducing a patient’s body temperature, and even creating Schwann cells could help patients in the future. Schwann cells in particular, which are cells that help regrow axons in other parts of the body, could be used to heal damaged nerve bundles in the spinal cord.

Source: BrainFacts.org, “Recovering From Spinal Cord Injuries,” accessed Feb. 02, 2016