Spinal Cord Injury? Contact Graves McLain for a Free Consultation.
Spinal Cord injuries are life-changing and oftentimes life-threatening. They can happen in an instant, and your life is changed forever. One day you could be running errands, and the next you’ve had a significant accident that has caused serious injuries that will impact your life and the life of your family. A spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord or the nerve endings at the end of the spinal cord. These injuries often cause a permanent change in strength, sensation, and other bodily function below the site of injury.
There are two compounding factors to whether you have the ability to control your limbs after a spinal cord injury: where the injury is located and the severity of the injury. Unfortunately, paralysis is often the result of severe spinal cord injuries. The two forms of paralysis are paraplegia and quadriplegia.
Paraplegia – When spinal cord injury results in paralysis of part of the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs.
Quadriplegia – When spinal cord injury results in paralysis of arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs.
According to www.mayoclinic.org, there are five most common causes of spinal cord injuries in the United States:
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Motor vehicle accidents. Auto and motorcycle accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries, accounting for more than 40 percent of new spinal cord injuries each year.
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Falls. Spinal cord injury after age 65 is most often caused by a fall. Overall, falls cause more than one-quarter of spinal cord injuries.
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Acts of violence. As many as 15 percent of spinal cord injuries result from violent encounters, often involving gunshot and knife wounds, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
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Sports and recreation injuries. Athletic activities, such as impact sports and diving in shallow water, cause 8 percent of spinal cord injuries.
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Alcohol. Alcohol use is a factor in about 1 out of every 4 spinal cord injuries.
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Diseases. Cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, and inflammation of the spinal cord also can cause spinal cord injuries.