Catastrophic injuries from motor vehicle collisions will affect someone for the rest of their life and likely lead to medical expenses and reduced income. Spinal cord injuries are among the worst possible injuries that people suffer in vehicle wrecks.
Damage to the spinal cord will affect both motor function and physical sensation below the point of injury. Is there any hope for those adjusting to life with a spinal cord injury after a car crash?
Incomplete injuries may partially heal
An incomplete spinal cord injury has not fully severed the upper part of the spinal cord from the part below the injury. With medical treatment like physical therapy and surgery, individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury may recover some of the lost sensation and function.
Advances in medicine promise more options in the future
Earlier this year, researchers published the first-ever report of individuals with complete spinal cord injury recovering some motor function. Through extensive medical intervention, including the surgical implantation of electrodes and a pacemaker, three adults eventually learn to walk again using software and electrostimulation of the spinal cord below the site of the injury.
Of course, cutting-edge care and extensive medical interventions can prove very expensive. Those adjusting to life with a spinal cord injury may not have the personal resources to connect with the best care possible. Both insurance claims and civil lawsuits can help finance the treatment necessary to recover after a traumatic spinal cord injury.
Maintaining hope can be hard when you hurt your spinal cord in a car crash, but there has never been a time in human history when the prognosis for such injuries has been better.
