The spinal cord, though less frequently considered than the brain, plays an almost equally important role in enabling the proper function of many of the body's systems and parts.
It serves as the conduit through which electrical signals that communicate vital information between the nervous system and the brain pass.
Any injury to the spinal cord can interrupt or terminate the transmission of those messages to specific parts of the body.
Typically, this compromise affects the portion of the body below the point of injury, so the severity of a spinal cord injury is greater as it progresses higher up the spine.
A distinction is also drawn between "complete" and "incomplete" spinal cord injuries.
A complete injury is distinguished by a total loss on both sides of the body of a certain capacity, and an incomplete case may be characterized by limited control or function.
Even an incomplete instance at the lowest portions of the spine can dramatically reduce one's quality of life and ability to garner or retain meaningful employment.
If you have suffered a debilitating injury caused by the negligence of another person or entity, it may be possible to file a lawsuit against the responsible parties.
Classification of Injuries by Location Although the vertebrae may all seem alike to the untrained person, they are classified differently based on their location within the spine.
Physicians have chosen to work with a system that assigns a letter and number to each individual vertebra for ease of quick reference.
This system offers a useful starting point for helping an injury victim to understand the effect that a particular wound is likely to have, when otherwise the physical structure would remain something of a mystery.
The regions of the spine are, from high to low, the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae.
These are denoted in reports as C, T, L, and S, respectively.
After the letter designation is a number, starting from 1 in each group.
C1 is higher than C2 and C7 is higher than T1, and so forth.
To demonstrate how significant a role the placement of an injury plays in the consequence: C1-C3 - likely to result in quadriplegia and eliminate autonomous breathing C7 - compromised ability to control the hands and fingers, loss of lower control T9-T12 - moderate loss of control over abdominal region, loss of lower control S1-S2 - loss of control over legs, feet, probable incontinence Costly Care The accommodations, inability to work and cost of medical care that a spinal cord injury is likely to incur demands you to take action.
To hold the responsible parties accountable, speak with the Des Moines personal injury lawyers of LaMarca & Landry, P.
C.