How Spinal Cord Injuries Affect the Body

Your spine is a delicate and essential element of your body. If you get into an accident and suffer a spinal injury, your entire quality of life could be upended. Spinal injuries can result in lifelong paralysis, memory issues, and other complicated conditions. 

You need to understand what kind of damage a spinal injury can do if you want to adequately address your condition. Identifying your spinal injury and its subsequent symptoms can help both your medical journey and make it easier to pursue legal action against an offending party.

Your Spinal Column Protects Your Nervous System

Your spinal cord is a bundle of nerves encased by your spinal column, which comprises the bones that make up your spine. Your spinal column stands between the rest of the world and your nervous system’s major highway. Complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries can occur due to spinal column fractures, and when your spinal cord is damaged, it interferes with your nervous system’s overall functionality.

This damage can result in a wide variety of conditions. Some spinal cord injury survivors are permanently paralyzed. Others may lose their fine motor control. Others still may lose access to one of their senses. In the best of cases, a spinal injury may only pinch a person’s nerves, resulting in short-term pain.

While you never want to contend with any of these conditions, knowing how a spinal injury can impact your or another person’s nervous system can help you prepare for life after an accident. You can work with medical professionals to address the reality of your losses and develop a treatment plan to restore your previous quality of life.

Your Spinal Cord and Bones Control Your Mobility

As mentioned, spinal cord injuries can damage the nerves that allow you to walk, move your arms, or otherwise attend to your day-to-day needs. It’s not only damage to the nerves that can impact your mobility, though. Your spine controls a significant amount of your ability to move. 

Damage to the cervical spine, for example, may make it more difficult for you to hold up your head. Damage to your lumbar spine can make walking painful or even impossible.

Spinal Cord Injuries Can Make You More Vulnerable to Brain Injuries

The connection between the nerves in your spine and your brain is impossible to ignore. Damage to the spine can see your brain’s ability to communicate with certain nerves cut off. While this can impact your ability to use part of your body, it can also have a negative impact on the health of your brain.

Some spinal injury survivors find themselves contending with permanent brain fog, lost memories, or even changed senses. While you can address some of these conditions with physical therapy and medical treatments, many survivors have to adjust to life with these new limitations.

Protect Your Spine From Other Peoples’ Negligence

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to control other people’s behaviors. The recklessness or negligence of other people can see you endure spinal injuries that change your entire life. While you have the option to protect yourself from these injuries, you can also embrace your right to legal action in the wake of debilitating injuries.

Our personal injury lawyers are prepared to explore your right to a civil action after a spinal cord injury accident. You or a personal representative can meet with our team to discuss what your case’s value may be. If you are the spouse, parent, or child of a person who survived a spinal injury, you may have the right to pursue a civil claim on the injured party’s behalf.

We Advocate for Your Access to Personal Injury Law

Spinal injuries can have devastating effects on your quality of life. If you or a loved one endure a serious spinal injury, you need to understand what the effects of your condition may be, particularly if you’re still seeking effective treatments. What’s more, you may need an attorney on your side to hold the person who caused your injury accountable for their behavior.

The Law Offices of Scott Sobol can help you understand your spinal injury and take action against an offending party. We’ve represented thousands of clients and are ready to help however we can. You can schedule a free consultation with one of our representatives by calling (954) 440-2000. We’re also available to discuss your circumstances through our contact form.