Every year around 12,000 people sustain spinal cord injuries. Most of these occur in car accidents, sports, falls, and industrial mishaps. Around 60% of these injuries occur in men younger than thirty. As of this time period, there are no guarantees for treatment or a cure for this injury, but there is hope, there are experimental drugs and treatment but they don’t always work (www.shepard.org/patient-programs/spinal-cord-injury/about). Returning to daily life with a spinal injury is a major struggle in a lot of ways. The struggles of returning to daily life after a spinal cord injury are based on, the category of injury, rehabilitation, changes in daily life, and treatments.
Doctors use the level of injury to tell what parts of the body will …show more content…
Some things that may have to change at the home of a person with a SCI include a ramp instead of stairs, the shower and toilet, tables, counters, and cabinets, appliances, and furniture, in addition to doorways that must all be handicap or wheelchair accessible. Another change is transportation. A person with a SCI may need a vehicle with hand controls or one that is modified to fit his or her abilities after the injury. In addition, there are physical and emotional changes for the person with the SCI that most people would not think of right away. These include employment, emotional health, bowel function, skin health, and routine tasks such as eating, bathing, sleeping, sexual function, breathing, and circulation. Depending on the level of injury, these things that many uninjured people may take for granted can change …show more content…
There are experimental treatments and drugs to reduce pains and trigger nerve regeneration, but it doesn't always help. Right now doctors focus more on preventing further injury than healing completely because most doctors think it is a lost cause. They help the patient return to daily life and don't really give input on treatments. There is a meeting in Toronto about how to fight against neurological diseases. They discuss many ways that they think can cure SCI’s but there is still research to do. Much research is being done on things such as integration of nanotechnology, stem cell research, biomedical engineering, and imaging of the brain and spinal cord to make progress in the fight against neurological diseases. These are all ideas they have to get nerves to regrow and reconnect with the nerves in the paralyzed part of the body. There are medicines they use to preserve the nerves and muscle in the back, but these medicines aren't a cure, they reduce damage to the nerves and decrease inflammation. Most of the time immobilizing the person right after injury keeps the extent of the injury from getting worse. Surgery with a spinal injury is normally to remove fragments of the spine and stabilize the spine from further
Doctors use the level of injury to tell what parts of the body will …show more content…
Some things that may have to change at the home of a person with a SCI include a ramp instead of stairs, the shower and toilet, tables, counters, and cabinets, appliances, and furniture, in addition to doorways that must all be handicap or wheelchair accessible. Another change is transportation. A person with a SCI may need a vehicle with hand controls or one that is modified to fit his or her abilities after the injury. In addition, there are physical and emotional changes for the person with the SCI that most people would not think of right away. These include employment, emotional health, bowel function, skin health, and routine tasks such as eating, bathing, sleeping, sexual function, breathing, and circulation. Depending on the level of injury, these things that many uninjured people may take for granted can change …show more content…
There are experimental treatments and drugs to reduce pains and trigger nerve regeneration, but it doesn't always help. Right now doctors focus more on preventing further injury than healing completely because most doctors think it is a lost cause. They help the patient return to daily life and don't really give input on treatments. There is a meeting in Toronto about how to fight against neurological diseases. They discuss many ways that they think can cure SCI’s but there is still research to do. Much research is being done on things such as integration of nanotechnology, stem cell research, biomedical engineering, and imaging of the brain and spinal cord to make progress in the fight against neurological diseases. These are all ideas they have to get nerves to regrow and reconnect with the nerves in the paralyzed part of the body. There are medicines they use to preserve the nerves and muscle in the back, but these medicines aren't a cure, they reduce damage to the nerves and decrease inflammation. Most of the time immobilizing the person right after injury keeps the extent of the injury from getting worse. Surgery with a spinal injury is normally to remove fragments of the spine and stabilize the spine from further