Is Long-Term Care Necessary For Spinal Cord Injuries?

On behalf of Lovett Law Firm posted in Spinal Cord Injuries on Tuesday, May 24, 2016.

Many people think it’s impossible to recover from a spinal cord injury, but recovery is usually possible to a degree. While there is no cure for a spinal cord injury, long-term treatment plans and intensive therapies can be beneficial for patients.

Around 12,000 spinal cord injuries take place each year, and another 200,000 or so people live with spinal cord injuries in the United States. After these injuries, acute rehabilitation may be the key to getting back some functionality, if not all functionality, from the point of injury.

Initially, when patients are hospitalized, they receive acute care. This care stabilizes the spine, aims to reduce swelling and focuses on stopping the progression of damage to the spinal cord. Once a patient is stabilized, recovery and rehabilitation can begin.

Rehabilitation provides people with the tools they need, whether those are walkers, exercise routines or other therapies. On top of this, focusing on coping methods can be helpful to both patients and their families. It’s often that these injuries are life-altering and permanent at least in some ways, so education on coping is necessary to help deter depression, anxiety and other issues that can arise.

Over time, a patient’s rehab needs may change. It’s important for long-term care to consider this factor, so patient are getting updated treatment plans every few months as necessary. Patients must work to keep up their flexibility and muscle mass in the long term if they want their bodies to remain healthy and in shape for potential treatments later on as spinal cord therapies are researched further.

Source: Burke Rehabilitation & Research, “Recovering from Spinal Cord Injury: Treatment Stages,” Argy Stampas, M.D., accessed May 24, 2016