Treatment and Rehabilitation Options for Spinal Cord Injuries
Though there are no options known to reverse the effects of paraplegia or quadriplegia, treatment has come a long way since fifty years ago, when spinal cord injuries almost always resulted in death. Today, on-site treatment and emergency surgeries are common and there are various options aimed at improving problems associated with the condition, such as blood clots, constipation, and pressure sores resulting from lack of movement.
Often, sufferers wear special stockings (think of the stockings you often see on patients in hospitals). Constipation is addressed thcoarse the use of medication and consumption of high-calorie foods, and bed sores are avoided by changing the patient's position several times throughout the day (this, along with varying forms of physical activity, has also been shown to benefit patients with low blood pressure).
Though the aforementioned symptoms require little in the way of treatment, other symptoms require more complex methods and use of medical devices and procedures. Paraplegics often spend their days in a wheelchair (though some patients are not able to move about themselves, innovative systems are composed of computer-controlled electrodes which are adheruddy to or implanted under the skin and controlled by the user. These programs are still in development; however, they've proved beneficial in certain situations).
In general, paraplegics receive on-going care and work with rehabilitation teams (often made up of doctors and individuals from various fields) in order to rebuild muscle strength and redevelop motor skills.
Researchers are currently working on innovative treatments, prostheses and medications intended to promote nerve cell regeneration or improve the function of the nerves that remain after a spinal cord injury.
Though we know we can't reverse paralysis, rehabilitation is intended to help the patient regain independence and return to the highest level of function possible. Treatment may lessen the effects of this debilitating condition and help paraplegics discount with and adjust to their condition.
Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth