Spinal Cord

Everyone has a spinal cord and luckily for most people, there is no injury to the cord and it is doing its job well. What is the job of this cord which is so closely guarded by the vertebrae in you back? The job is to be a conduit for impulses from your brain to the other parts of your body, i.e. your arms, your legs, your nerves and sense of feeling. This cord is pretty fragile and that is why it is so well protected by the vertebrae of the back.

The most common causes of spinal cord trauma are the following: Automobile and motorcycle accidents top the chart explaining 40 percent of new injuries each year. Violence such as gunshot wounds or knife wounds explains about 15 percent of these injuries according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Falls are not to be taken lightly and can cause one quarter or these injuries, particularly in people over age 65. Sports such as football with a lot of impact or diving into shallow water are responsible for 8 percent. Alcohol use or abuse is a component to 1 in every 4 injuries to the cord. Of course, there are diseases such as cancer, arthritis and inflammation of the discs near the cord that cause painful injury.

Being as vital as it is to the well being of most of the parts of your body, an injury to the spinal cord can bring about devastating change to your life and lifestyle. Certainly many people no longer can walk after this event and many have trouble with bladder and bowel control. It should be apparent that people with serious cord injuries will probably no longer be able to work at the present job without some modifications. They may not be able to work at all. If a person suffered an extreme cord injury through no fault of their own, but through the fault of another, then they may be due some compensation. They would need the type of compensation that would pay their medical expenses, make up for their lost wages and pay for a strong rehabilitation program that will help them function to the highest level possible. The Catastrophic Injury Resource Center is set up for just this purpose. It will not only be effective in the legal arena, but can help you reach other resources that you will need to make life with a spinal cord injury livable.

If you or a family member has gone through this type of spinal cord injury, you need to seek out help from a group like the Catastrophic Injury Resource Center. This group is staffed with people who understand these types of injuries and will help. Please contact them at the Catastrophic Injury Resource Center at 1-800-669-7700 or visit their website at www.catastrophicinjury.com for more information.