Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
What Are Spinal Cord Injuries?
Together, the spinal cord and the brain make up the Central Nervous System. This system controls the motor skills which allow you to achieve physical motion such as walking, raising your arms, and so on.
Spinal cord injuries refer to the damage caused to the white matter or myelinated fiber tracts that carry signals both to and from the brain or damage to the gray matter that resides in the central area of the spine that result in the loss of interneurons and motorneurons. The effects of these injuries include a loss of motor function or feeling and may lead to paralysis.
What are the different types of spinal cord injuries?
There are basically two types of spinal cord injuries, “complete” and “incomplete”.
Complete Spinal Cord Injuries
Complete spinal cord injuries refer to damage that has resulted in a complete lack of sensory and voluntary movement below the area of injury.
In complete injuries both sides of the body are affected equally. Less than 5% of people with complete injuries recover motor function.
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
Incomplete spinal cord injuries refer to damage that has left some functioning ability below the area of injury.
People with incomplete injuries may experience feeling in parts of the body they cannot move or have the ability to control one limb more than another. Incomplete injuries may also result in one side of the body achieving more motor function than the other. Over 95% of people with incomplete injuries are able to regain at least some motor function.
How common are spinal cord injuries?
- Between 250,000- 450,000 people in the U.S. currently live with spinal cord injuries.
- 12,000 new spinal cord injuries occur every year.
- The majority of spinal cord injuries (82%) involve males between the ages of 16-30, 42% of these injuries are the direct result of motor vehicle accidents.
Serious motor vehicle accidents such as van accidents, SUV rollovers, car, truck and motorcycle accidents are likely to result in a body trauma and spinal cord injury, especially if the victim was ejected from the vehicle.
What are other possible spinal cord injury complications?
- Bowel and Bladder function – including bladder infections and incontinence
- Sexual function – “reflex” erections are controlled in the sacral nerves and may be affected
- Neuropathic Pain – chronic pain caused by incorrect signals from the damaged nerve
- Spasticity – Stiffness and/or increased reflexes in the limbs
- Muscle Atrophy – decrease in muscle mass
- Osteoporosis – loss of calcium that leads to the degeneration of bones
- Gallbladder and Renal Stones
If you or someone you love has experienced spinal cord injuries due to a motor vehicle accident in Massachusetts, call the Boston personal injury lawyers at Kiley Law Group and learn about your legal options and rights
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Call 888-208-1695 today.
