ry to the spinal cord, but injury to nearby nerves sometimes causes sever pain. Unlike the symptoms of certain types of brain injury, which may become apparent only after some time has passed, symptoms of spinal cord damage almost always appear immediately after the injury that causes them.(The American Medical Association family medical guide-Random House,Inc., New York, 1987)There are anatomical and functional changes after injury. The types of disability associated with spinal injury vary greatly depending on the severity of the injury; the segment of the spinal cord at which the injury occurs, and which nerve fibers are damaged. In spinal cord injury, the destruction of nerve fibers that carry motor signals from the brain to the torso and limbs leads to muscle paralysis. Destruction of sensory nerve fibers can lead to loss of sensations such as touch, pressure, and temperature; it sometimes also causes pain. Other serious consequences can include exaggerated reflexes; loss of bladder and bowel control; sexual dysfunction; lost or decreased breathing capacity; impaired cough reflexes; and spasticity(abnormallly strong muscle contractions). Most people with spinal cord injury regain some functions between a week and six months after injury, but the likeihood of spontaneous recovery diminishes after six months. Rehabilitation strategies can minimize the long-term disability.(Community First Aid and Safety-Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis, 1993) Normal spinal reflexes depends on two-way communication between the spinal cord and the brain. Injuring nerve pathways depresses the cord’s reflex activities in sites below the injury. At the same time, sensations and muscular tone in parts of the affected fibers innervate lessen. This condition is called spinal shock; it may last for days or weeks. Eventually normal reflex activity may return, but if nerve fibers are severed, some of the cord’s functions are likely to be permen...
