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Published on: February 23, 2012

A Person’s Medical History could give Important Details into Thoracic Spinal Injuries

by Stephen Bilkis

Before a person can be treated for a thoracic spinal injury, a doctor has to diagnosis them with the trauma. It is important that if you believe you have suffered a spinal injury or have any of the following symptoms listed below to contact your doctor immediately. Treatment can greatly reverse the injury in many cases several hours have the trauma, a doctor affirmed.

A doctor will want to talk to the individual or family members to figure out if the person has had any recent trauma that could cause back problems. Falls, sport-related activities, vehicle accidents, and violence are the four most common causes of thoracic spinal injuries. A major car accident could cause more damage than just totaling a car. Head-on collisions or rollovers are mishaps doctors should know about. Accidents while on motorcycles, bicycles, and hit and runs could produce spinal injuries.

With thoracic spinal injuries, several symptoms will develop that a doctor needs to know about immediately. Even if the symptoms have disappeared or improved, your doctor will want to know about any tenderness or pain while moving. In addition, your doctor will ask about any numbness or tingling in the arms or legs. Speak up if you have any weird sensations in your legs. It is common for individuals who are completely paralyzed to have sensations in the anus or legs and even to move their legs, a study expresses.

Published on: February 21, 2012

Those with Spinal Injuries May be Prone to Pressure Sores

by Stephen Bilkis

While there are many people who have suffered spinal cord injuriesand have gone on to a full recovery, there are also many who must live the rest of their lives with decreased mobility due to their injuries like a herniated disc. In one doctor’s many years of experience dealing with these types of injuries, we have learned that people who have suffered from spinal cord injuries must take care to prevent pressure sores.

Although pressure sores have many names associated with them, once you have one it can take months to heal if not properly cared for. The investigator knows that pressure sores are caused by the loss of blood flow to an area of the skin that results in the skin or underlying tissue dying. This is often caused when pressure is applied to the skin area as you rest, especially if the area is somewhat bony. This is a problem with anyone who must lie or sit for extended periods, and especially when there is a loss of feeling in an area. Hospitals and doctors in Nassau and Suffolk Counties try to be sensitive to this problem and act accordingly.

It is recommended that if you have a spinal cord injury either you or your caregiver should check for a red area on your skin, as this is usually a sign that a pressure sore is beginning. If the redness dissipates after about 30 minutes after releasing the pressure it should be ok, but if the redness persists then a there is a strong likelihood that a pressure sore is forming. For those with dark skin, there will likely be a change in skin color, which may become develop into dry, flaky, and even a little lighter in color than normal.

Published on: February 17, 2012

School Administrator Worried about Football Injury Award

by Stephen Bilkis

In 1982 jury, in Seattle, Washington, awarded $6.3 million to a high school football player who sustained serious spinal injuries while playing for the school’s team.

That judgment worried one school official. He worried that school boards across the country would be prompted to review the benefits of sports programs unfairly against the possible costs of lawsuits. Programs that could lead to injury, he argued, could possibly be unnecessarily cut.

At the time of the settlement, the claimant was 21 years old.

Published on: February 14, 2012

Woman in Manitoba Sues Doctors for Not Detecting Cyst

by Stephen Bilkis

A woman of Thompson, in Manitoba, Canada is suing the Burntwood Regional Health Authority and four doctors for the brain damage she suffered after a spinal column cyst went undetected for more than a year of medical visits.

The Thompson woman is now unable to work as a First Nations mental health counselor and needs daily assistance, alleged experts. The Burntwood Regional Health Authority in Thompson claims they have not yet received the statement of claim and the allegations remain unproven in court.

The suit is for unspecified damages, including loss of income.

Published on: February 11, 2012

Paralyzed Rutgers Player Comes Home

by Stephen Bilkis

The family of paralyzed Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand has informed the school that he has been released from the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and will live with his aunt in Jackson.

LeGrand was paralyzed from the shoulders down when he suffered a spinal cord injurywhile making at tackle in a game on October 16th, 2010 against Army. He spent the time from November 8 until the end of March 2011 recuperating.

“This is an exciting day for me to return to living with family,” LeGrand said in a statement. “My family and I can’t thank Kessler enough for all the tremendous care and support I received as I continue rehab from my injury. It has meant so much to me to receive so many well wishes and prayers from everyone.”

Published on: February 8, 2012

Television Station in NY Wins Award for Spine Injury Story

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York television station was awarded three Bronze Telly awards recently, one of which featured a man from Byron, New York, who suffered a paralyzing injury.

The station runs a national health care series known as “Second Opinion”, which was awarded a Bronze Telly in their health and fitness category, because of an episode it produced on spinal cord injuries. The series features a doctor as a host who deliberates over medical cases with a panel of experts. They debate the diagnostic procedures the medical professionals employ, how the test results are interpreted, and decide upon the best course of action for the patient in question.

The victim on this particular award-winning show was a Bryon man who fell 20 feet out of a tree and was paralyzed from the waist down on May 7, 2007. According to source, he fell from a tree while attempting to rescue the family pet, a cockatiel from a tree. He had climbed that same tree numerous times before.

Published on: February 6, 2012

California Company Announces Stem Cell Trial to Treat Spinal Cord Injuries

by Stephen Bilkis

Stem Cells, Inc. has announced the initiation of a clinical trial that will see the implantation of stem cells into patients with spinal cord injuries, a reporter learned today. The study in which the first phase will last one year, is currently open for enrollment and will include 12 patients whose spinal cord injuries like herniated discs are chronic and have occurred within varying periods of three and 12 months ago.

This is a landmark study in hospitals in Long Island and Manhattan and seeks to treat those patients who by the definition of chronic have “reached a plateau in their recovery,” and are less likely to experience increased function. This level is normally reached several months after the spinal injury occurred, sources told a relative. If successful, the long-term impacts of this study would give those patients who would have run out of available options for further treatment and rehabilitation.

It has long been recognized that spinal cells attempt to regenerate, but are unable to proceed beyond a certain point without some measure of intervention. Scientists have assisted with some regeneration by providing nutrition directly to the spinal cells. This clinical trial will attempt a new approach. Both California based Stem Cells and the doctors are hoping that the implantation of stem cells will induce the spinal cord cells to grow on their own. It is expected that if this is successful that there should be an improvement in the patient’s sensory and motor function, as well as other bodily functions such as bowel and bladder.

Published on: February 2, 2012

Paralyzed Veterans Urge Congress to Leave VA Alone

by Stephen Bilkis

The Paralyzed Veterans of America’s president appeared before Congress to urge the legislative body away from affecting their health care.

“Without a doubt, the Department of Veteran Affairs is the most effective health-care provider for veterans. The VA’s specialized services, including its system of spinal cord injury (SCI) care, are incomparable resources that are not duplicated in the private sector. These services are being threatened by proposed cost-cutting measures, the drive toward so-called ‘management efficiencies’ and, unfortunately, through politics,” the Paralyzed Veterans’ president told a researcher.

Using both oral and written statements, the president pled his case before the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees. He urged immediate action on three main points. The first was the lack of staff at hospitals, especially nurses. According to Paralyzed Veterans, there are 140 nurses less than the minimum requirement for nursing personnel delivering care at the bedside. Secondly, the shortages in staff lead to fewer beds. The VA is in need of more nurses, physicians, psychologists, social workers, and therapists, but because of the lack there were 288 unavailable SCI beds in the VA system. Finally, there is a lack of long-term care when it comes to veterans who suffer spinal cord injury or dysfunction. There is no specialized SCI long-term care beds west of the Mississippi and only 150 beds in the entire VA system.

Published on: January 30, 2012

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery is Becoming the Preferred Surgical Technique

by Stephen Bilkis

For those who have seen many new surgical methods and techniques develop over the years, at least one of these procedures has made great strides as well as improved many lives. One such surgical method is called minimally invasive spine surgery, a doctor claims. This is practiced when accidents like bicycle accidents happen.

Minimally invasive surgery simply stated is surgery that is performed through two small incisions usually about the size of a quarter each. researchers also learned that an endoscope is inserted through one incision that usually contains a camera and light, while the surgical instruments are inserted through the other incision. The surgeon(s) then will watch their activity on a closed video monitor.

What makes minimally invasive spine surgery such an important procedure? Traditional surgery methods have a long history of being invasive, which necessitated long recovery times. Invasive in many cases included doctors having to pull the muscle tissue away from the spine in order to fuse vertebrae, repair lesions, etc. Many patients who underwent spinal surgery with these methods could expect to be out of their normal life’s rhythm for up to a year in some cases. In many cases, patients who have undergone a minimally invasive spinal operation have recovered in just a few weeks and even a few days in some cases.

Published on: January 26, 2012

Kids Continue to Risk Grave Injury

by Stephen Bilkis

Professional athletes can perform amazing feats. Not too long ago, NBA star Blake Griffon slam-dunked a basketball as he leapt over a car. While these acts are impressive, doctors know, as well as anyone, that young people will try to emulate them, at least to some extent. Lacking both the judgment and skill of professional players, this can very well lead to spinal injuries. A life that has just started out could easily be made much harder in one moment of playfulness.

Such attempts are easy to find on YouTube. The website has a great many videos of kids suffering horrific-looking accidents while riding skateboards, sledding, or attempting parkour tricks seen in movies. This is true, of course, for basketball as well. It is easy to find numerous incidents of people attempting to increase their jump heights by springing from the back of a teammate. Usually, the result is fairly humorous. A pair of people fall to the ground, the ball doesn’t get anywhere near the hoop, and everyone laughs. Many of these videos show a lot worse and they often show the failed attempt without every showing what happened afterward.

YouTube has a number of videos where the person attempting to make the basketball shot from the back of a friend not only misses, but misses catastrophically. Instead of just falling to the ground, the basketball player misses the hoop entirely and falls to the ground, often right on his head. A direct impact such as that, with the full weight of the body falling from a height suddenly on the neck, can easily lead to spinal injury, as doctors know all too well. It is never easy to determine the effects such an impact might have. It is possible no damage will be done, but it is just as possible the blow could lead to paralysis. It could also lead to any number of problems in between, such as a weakened spinal cord or back and neck pain that could last for a lifetime. doctors in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are aware of this and warn their patients against reckless and unsupervised stunts.