Suffering a serious injury of any type can cause considerable setbacks in your life. In best cases, those injuries are not permanent, and you can recover with little to no lasting negative effects. Unfortunately, some parts of the body are particularly susceptible to experiencing permanent impacts due to injury, and you could find yourself having to make major adjustments to your life in order to deal with these effects.
If you have been in a car accident, the chances of suffering injuries to any part of your body are high. If this type of event results in your suffering injuries to your spinal cord, your life could be altered forever. What should you know about spinal cord injuries?
Spinal cord importance
The spinal cord acts as an integral part of the body’s functioning systems. The spinal cord contains nerves that allow your brain to send signals throughout your body that results in your moving your arms, legs and various muscles in your body. Additionally, the spinal cord affects your heart and breathing rate and numerous other vital functions. As a result, if you suffer an injury to your spinal cord due to a car crash, you could face significant adverse effects.
Spinal cord injury
If you suffer injuries to other parts of your body, such as having a cut on your skin or breaking your arm, those injuries can typically heal on their own over time. Unfortunately, the spinal cord does not have this ability. Therefore, if your spinal cord experiences damage, the injury could require surgery to repair or remain permanent.
With this type of damage, you could experience either a complete or incomplete injury. With a complete spinal cord injury, you lose all ability to move the muscles below the injury as well as lose all feeling. For injuries in the incomplete category, you may retain some ability to move and feel.
In addition to whether the issue is complete or incomplete, the exact effects that can result in this situation depend on where on the spine the damage occurs
Seeking compensation
Because of the severe effects that a spinal cord injury can have, you may need extensive medical attention, physical therapy and other treatments. Additionally, you may need to make lifestyle modifications in order to accommodate your injury. These life changes can have considerable emotional and physical impacts as well as financial implications. If another driver caused the accident that resulted in your injury, you may wish to consider pursuing compensation by a filing a personal injury claim.