Questions - Rehabilitation en-us http://www.thescizone.com/questions N/A http://www.thescizone.com/questions webmaster@thescizone.com 20 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/103/1/What-are-the-effects-of-SCI/1.html The effects of SCI depend on the type of  injury and the level of the injury. SCI can be divided into two types of injury - complete and incomplete. A complete injury means that there is no function below the level of the injury; no sensation and no voluntary movement. Both sides of the body are equally affected. An incomplete injury means that there is some functioning below the primary level of the injury. A person with an incomplete injury may be able to move one limb more than another, may be able to feel parts of the body that cannot be moved, or may have more functioning on one side of the body than the other. With the advances in acute treatment of SCI, incomplete injuries are becoming more common. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/104/1/What-is-Spinal-Cord-Injury/1.html Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling. Frequent causes of damage are trauma (car accident, gunshot,  falls, etc.) or disease (polio, spina bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia, etc.). The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur. In fact, in most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning. SCI is very different from back injuries such as ruptured disks, spinal stenosis or pinched nerves. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/105/1/What-is-the-spinal-cord-and-the-vertebra/1.html The spinal cord is about 18 inches long and extends from the base of the brain, down the middle of the back, to about the waist. The nerves that lie within the spinal cord are upper motor neurons (UMNs) and their function is to carry the messages back and forth from the brain to the spinal nerves along the spinal tract. The spinal nerves that branch out from the spinal cord to the other parts of the body are called lower motor neurons (LMNs). These spinal nerves exit and enter at each vertebral level and communicate with specific areas of the body. The sensory portions of the LMN carry messages about sensation from the skin and other body parts and organs to the brain. The motor portions of the LMN send messages from the brain to the various body parts to initiate actions such as muscle movement. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Sun, 20 May 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/101/1/I-need-help-in-getting-something-so-I-can-use-my-computer--Can-you-help-me/1.html I have a spinal cord injury and have no mobility from the neck down.  I need some help in getting something so I can use my computer.  Can you help me? webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/7/1/What-is-autonomic-dysreflexia/1.html The autonomic nervous system often becomes hyperactive in people with spinal cord injury. Autonomic dysreflexia manifests in large increases in blood pressure (hypertension) with systolic pressures exceeding 200 mm Hg, slow (bradycardia) or fast heart rate (tachycardia), headaches, facial flushing, exuberant sweating, hyperthermia, stuffy nose, goose pimples, nausea, and other signs of autonomic hyperactivity. Called autonomic dysreflexia, these episodes may be spontaneously or may be instigated by infection, pain, or other conditions that stimulate the autonomic nervous system. Severe autonomic dysreflexia may be life-threatening. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Fri, 23 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/6/1/What-is-meant-by-the-terms-quotcompletequot-and-quotincompletequot-injuries/1.html Complete injuries result in total loss of sensation and function below the injury level. Incomplete injuries result in partial loss. "Complete" does not necessarily mean the cord has been severed. Each of the above categories can occur in paraplegia and quadriplegia. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Fri, 23 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/9/1/What-happens-to-the-bladder-bowel-and-sexual-function/1.html  The spinal cord also carries “autonomic” signals that control blood pressure, blood flow, breathing, sweating, bowel, bladder, sexual, and other autonomic functions. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/10/1/How-is-spinal-cord-injury-classified/1.html In 1990, the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) proposed a uniform classification system that had five categories, defined in Table 1. Motor level is defined as the level at which the key muscle innervated by the segment has at least 3/5 of its normal strength. Sensory level is defined as the lowest spinal cord level that still has normal pinprick and touch sensation. If there is a spinal cord level below which there is no voluntary motor or conscious sensory function, the person is called a “complete” spinal cord injury. Since the S5 is the lowest spinal cord level that innervates the anal sphincter, a person that has no voluntary anal sphincter control or sensation is defined as a “complete” spinal cord injury.  webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Sun, 18 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/52/1/What-is-the-phrenic-nerve-and-where-is-it-situated/1.html The phrenic nerve goes from the spinal cord to the diaphragm, a large muscle at the bottom of your chest that mediates breathing activity. Axons of the phrenic nerve come from the phrenic nucleus situated at spinal cervical segments C3, C4, and C5. Most of the axons About 75% of people have an accessory phrenic branch that comes from C5 and even C6. The sternocleidomastoid muscle is the long muscle that goes from the angle of your jaw to the head of clavicle, the long horizontal bone that goes from your shoulder to the front base of your neck. Various branches of the phrenic nerve head down behind the sternocleidomastoid, joining together at the subclavian vein (a vein that is under the clavicle) and descending downward into the chest. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Sun, 10 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/questions/articles/67/1/How-long-will-recovery-take/1.html Recovery takes a long time. Most recovery occur within 6 months but many people continue to recover function for a year or more. A recent poll of the CareCure Community suggests that 61% recovered function more than one year after injury. In another poll, 16-18% of people who are “complete” spinal cord injury recovered additional function 3 or more years after injury. A recent study detailed how Christopher Reeve recover function over 7 years after his injury. So, recovery frequently continues for years after injury. webmaster@thescizone.com (Super Admin) Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0500