Fifty years ago, a spinal cord injury was usually fatal. Today, there's still no way to reverse damage to the spinal cord. But advances in recent years have improved the recovery of patients with a spinal cord injury and halved the amount of time survivors must spend in the hospital. Researchers are optimistically working on new treatments, including innovative prostheses and medications that may promote nerve cell Regeneration or improve the function of the nerves that remain after a spinal cord injury.
In the meantime, treatment focuses on preventing further injury and enabling people with a spinal cord injury to return to an active and productive life within the limits of their Disability. This requires urgent emergency attention and ongoing care.
If you suffer a head or neck injury, you'll likely be treated by paramedics and emergency workers who will attend to three immediate concerns — maintaining your ability to breathe, keeping you from going into shock and immobilizing your neck to prevent further spinal cord damage. Emergency personnel typically immobilize the spine as gently and quickly as possible using a rigid neck collar and a rigid carrying board, which they'll use to transport you to the hospital.
In the emergency room, doctors focus on maintaining your blood pressure, breathing and neck stabilization and avoiding possible complications, such as stool or urine retention, respiratory or cardiovascular difficulty, and formation of deep vein blood clots in the extremities. You may be sedated so that you don't move and cause more damage while undergoing diagnostic tests for spinal cord injury.
If you do have a spinal cord injury, you'll usually be admitted to the intensive care unit for treatment. You may even be transferred to a regional spine injury center that has a team of neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, spinal cord medicine specialists, psychologists, nurses, therapists and social workers with expertise in spinal cord injury.
