Living with SCI
SCI FAQs
What to Expect When You See a Health Care Professional
Diagnostic tests for spinal cord injuries may include a CT scan, MRI or X-ray These tests will help the doctors get a better look at abnormalities within the spinal cord. Your doctor will be able to see exactly where the spinal cord injury has occurred.
A complete neurological exam will be performed a few days after the injury. This length of time will allow any swelling to subside, which will allow your doctor to diagnose the severity of the spinal cord injury and predict the likelihood of recovery and the possible outcomes from treatment.
Spinal cord injury treatment is informed by your spinal cord injury diagnosis. Timing and medical history, physical examination and diagnostic tests will help your doctor diagnose the possible outcomes and chances of recovery.
Timing and Medical History
Timing and medical history are two important factors in diagnosing a spinal cord injury. The faster a patient can obtain treatment, the better the chances for recovering from the injury.
Also, it is essential to understand how the injury occurred and know a patient’s medical history. Your doctor will need to know if you’ve had any of the following prior to your medical emergency:
- Pain in your neck or back
- Previous injuries or surgeries to your neck or back
- Loss of sensation or weakness in your arms or legs
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
Spinal Cord Injury Physical Examination
A doctor can test sensory functions, muscle movement and strength, and reflexes through a physical examination:
- Sensory messages include the feelings of hot, cold, touch, pain, pressure, and body position.
- Motor messages are sent to the muscles in your arms, hands, fingers, legs, toes, chest, and other parts of your body. These messages tell the muscles how and when to move.
- Reflex messages are involuntary, and they help protect your body with instinctive reactions.
This examination will help your doctor determine if there is damage to your cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral vertebrae. These sections of the spine protect groups of nerves that correspond to specific areas of the body.
Prognosis and Recovery
Your doctor may not be able to give you a prognosis right away. Prognosis for patients with spinal cord injuries varies and depends largely on the degree of damage. In many cases, physicians cannot be certain of the extent of immobility until a few months have passed since the injury. Some patients will have more mobility than others. Recovery, if it occurs, typically starts a week to six months after an injury. However, some people experience small improvements for up to one to two years.
Patients often develop several secondary conditions following spinal cord injury. Managing these conditions with qualified health care providers along with a good support system of therapists, family, and friends plays a large role in one’s quality of life. Staying emotionally healthy and maintaining good eating and exercise habits are important.
What Can I Do to Feel Better?
Each person living with a spinal cord injury will have different needs in levels of care and equipment. Some forms of care may include but are not limited to:
- Personal Care: Showering, Toileting, Transferring, and Feeding
- Domestic Services: Meal Preparation, Shopping, Cleaning, Ironing
- Household Support: Gardening, Home Cleaning, Home Maintenance
- Community Access: Transportation and Companionship
- Nursing: Medication
- Other: Childcare, Workplace, and or Educational Support
People with paraplegia may need little or no personal care but may need assistance with domestic duties. Many people with high cervical injury will require permanent 24-hour care. Being closer to the brain and affecting a larger portion of the body, cervical spinal cord injuries are more severe. If there is an injury in the cervical area, it will result intetraplegia/quadriplegia, meaning there is limited or absent feeling or movement below the shoulders/neck. Equipment needs include manual or power wheelchair with battery charger, portable ramps, hoist, pressure relief cushion, shower chair, catheter, adjustable bed, air conditioning, ventilator, physiotherapy, home automation (possible voice controlled), computer, modified vehicle.
Ongoing Care |
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Child and Youth Rehabilitation |
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Medications |
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Technology |
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What are Potential Effects of SCI?
There are certain complications that occur more commonly after spinal cord injury, some of which are medical emergencies. These complications are often referred to as secondary conditions. That’s because they arise from medical risks that come after a spinal cord injury.
Complication | Description |
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Fractures | Broken bones can occur, even with low-impact activity. People with spinal cord injuries are twice as likely to break leg bones as the general population. This is usually the result of osteopenia or osteoporosis (see below). |
Osteopenia or Osteoporosis | Chronic bone disease involving low bone mass and deterioration of bone, which can raise the risk of fractures. |
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism | Blood clots that form in a vein deep in the body can cause leg pain, swelling, and redness. If a clot travels through the bloodstream, it can lodge in a lung. This is called a pulmonary embolism, or PE. A PE is a medical emergency. |
Orthostatic Hypotension | This is sudden low blood pressure that occurs with position changes. It may cause fainting, profuse sweating, and a rapid heart rate. |
Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD) | This is a risk for people with SCI level T6 and above. Their blood pressure rises significantly, and they may have a pounding headache, a slow heart rate, profuse sweating, goose bumps, flushed skin, blurred vision, and anxiety. This is a medical emergency. |
Septicemia | This is an infection that enters the bloodstream. Symptoms can include fever and chills, confusion, nausea and vomiting, increased heart rate, and low blood pressure. |
Pneumonia | This is an infection involving the lungs. This can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or other organisms. Symptoms may include fever, cough, weakness, and shortness of breath. |
Bladder and Kidney Stones | This is a solid piece of material that forms from substances in the urine. A stone can stay in the kidney or travel down the urinary tract. Stones can block the flow of urine, increase infection risk, and cause pain. |
Because a person with an SCI may be more prone to these medical complications, it is important for survivors to learn about these risks so you can monitor any potential symptoms and discuss with your healthcare professional. You should also discuss ways of preventing them with your healthcare provider.
Tips for Family, Friends, and Caregivers
Understanding Spinal Cord Injury While the cause and nature of the spinal cord injury varies with the individual, and each person responds according to their personality and prognosis, there are some emotions commonly experienced by those who have had a spinal cord injury: |
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Rehabilitation and Recovery Your first experience as a caregiver for a spinal cord injury (SCI) usually comes during rehabilitation (rehab). The rehab team will take the lead in your loved one’s recovery. During this time there are some things you can do to help. |
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Preparing your Home When you leave a rehabilitation (rehab) center for your home after a spinal cord injury (SCI), you need to have your home ready for your special needs. Following are some of the adaptations and adaptive equipment you may need. Talk with your rehab team about what you will need specifically and the best way to proceed. |
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Technology for Caregivers Today more than ever, technology is available to help make our lives easier in many ways. Technology can play a huge role in caregiving duties today, and the internet itself provides a vast amount of resources for caregiver. A wide variety of smartphone apps can help caregivers with such things like medication and doctor appointment reminders. There are more detailed applications that can assist with all sorts of healthcare planning, like storing medical information, lists of current physicians and prescriptions and general health tracking. Below are some apps for caregivers: |
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For more information on tips for families, caregivers, and friends, please visit Shepherd Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Caregiver Guide