Spinal cord injuries are serious and can be life-changing, demanding the need for specialist care, such as home care or assisted living. In the short-term, a person will undoubtedly require constant, round-the-clock care as they recover – and even then, making a full recovery is far from guaranteed.
External trauma is the main cause for someone suffering from a spinal cord injury, although tumours, blood loss, stenosis and disease (such as polio and spina bifida) can result in a non-traumatic injury. When a person has an injury to the spinal cord, they suffer from a lack of mobility and sometimes feeling due to related nerve damage.
What is a Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury is damage occurred to any part of the spinal cord and/or the nerves located at the spinal canal. Any injury is likely to cause permanent damage which can change the person’s way of living, often to the point that care is required.
Men aged 16-30 are more susceptible to suffering from a spinal cord injury because this is the demographic most likely to partake in risky behaviour (such as playing contact sport), which is the most common cause of spinal cord injury. Some of the symptoms of spinal cord injury include:
- Complete paralysis below the injury (known as a complete spinal cord injury)
- Loss of movement
- Change in sensations
- Loss of control of bowel and bladder functions
- Spasms/exaggerated reflexes
- Pain in the spinal cord (likely a stinging sensation)
- Changes to sexual functions, fertility and sensitivity
- Breathing difficulties
What is a C5 Spinal Cord Injury?
A C5 spinal cord injury is one of the most common types of spinal cord injury and often results in the person suffering from quadriplegia, which is paralysis in both the upper and lower body. Vocal cords are also affected by an injury to the C5 spinal cord.
Research is being conducted looking into a cure for spinal cord injuries, with some encouraging results concerning stem cells providing some hope that people living with a loss of feeling and movement may, once again, regain this ability. However, this does remain some way off and the answer to whether there ever will be a cure for spinal cord injury remains uncertain.
Can a Spinal Cord Injury Cause Memory Loss?
Although spinal cord injuries affect sensory and motor functions, there is no evidence that an injury to the spinal cord has any relation to memory loss. If a spinal cord injury has been caused alongside a traumatic brain injury, which may result in a concussion and/or long-term damage, then memory loss may occur and this will be because of the sustained head trauma, rather than injury to the spinal cord.
Is Spinal Cord Injury Permanent?
In most cases, the effects of spinal cord injury are permanent with only a small number of people recovering fully. For the best chance of recovery, muscles around the spinal cord must repair quickly (within the first few weeks after sustaining the injury).
Some people living with a spinal cord injury may be able to regain some of their functions in the months and years after the injury, but some form of care is likely to always be needed.
Contact KASE Care about Specialist Care
If you or a loved one is living with spinal cord injury and you are interested in learning more about the range of care packages offered by KASE Care, please get in touch with a member of our team today.
