First aid for the spinal cord injury: rehabilitation

Первая помощь при травме позвоночника: реабилитация Spinal injury is one of the most severe types of injuries with serious consequences. Illiterate given first aid in trauma of the spine can lead to disability of the victim. To determine the presence of spinal injury and its severity, you first need to determine the location:

damage to the cervical spine;
thoracic;
lumbar;
trauma to the coccyx.

Cervical often injured due to a car accident. This injury is called «whiplash» occurs during hard braking of transport. Other injuries often produced by falling from different heights. To injure the tailbone, just enough to stumble or slip, for example, during the ice and fall. Damage to the lumbar spine requires more effort. This injury could trigger a fall from a height greater than the height of a man.

Categories of injuries and their symptoms

The nature of the injury to the spine is determined by the open or closed type of injury and accounted for, spinal cord injury or not.

The types of injury are divided into several categories:

injury, the trauma from the fall or strong impact;
the injury caused by excessive flexion or extension of the spine;
compression, comminuted spinal injury.

The first two types of injuries basically get during car accidents because of the neglect of safety rules at the enterprise when falling from a great height. Первая помощь при травме позвоночника: реабилитация Injuries compression method, characterized by the process pressure on the vertebra, so that its flatten. Often, such pressure leads to the splitting of the injured vertebra into many small fragments. This kind of injury often leads to damage of the spinal cord.

Closed injuries of the spine occur when internal injuries, the skin and the muscle fibers do not suffer. With an open injury disrupted the integrity of the muscle tissue and skin of the back. During both types of injuries can take place damage to the spinal cord. The main symptoms of spinal injury are:

numbness, pricking and burning sensations in the upper and lower extremities;
a sharp pain at the injury site, severe muscle tension;
nausea, dizziness;
reduced sensitivity of the muscles.

During spinal cord injury may experience loss of sensitivity of some organs, limbs, can be total or partial paralysis.

READ Osteomyelitis: treatment and prevention of disease complications

First aid for different types of damage

Whatever the injury or people, he needs emergency care. Around this time, it is important not to panic, not to get lost and keep firmly in mind that it is necessary to take in the first place.

Первая помощь при травме позвоночника: реабилитация

Before transporting the patient is necessary to immobilize completely with the help of improvised means

The main rule, when providing first aid to the victim is the assurance of immobility. To move or roll the casualty is impossible, it must be done by the health workers.

If injured cervical spine, must be put under the shoulders, back and neck pillows, folded clothes. To lock the position of the head and neck. The neck must be locked in case of injury to any part of the range, because the movement of the head will result in movement of the other parts of the spine.

To call an ambulance.

While waiting for the ambulance should monitor the condition of the victim, to contact the family.

If the victim has no allergies to pain medication, to give pain medication to stop an acute pain and to try to keep the victim conscious until the arrival of medical care.

Not to do heart massage, these movements can cause additional injury to the spine.

If you call medical assistance is not possible, you need to shift the victim on a flat hard surface. To do this, use any available means at hand, for example, boards. They can successfully transport the victim to the point of care. If such items are not near, you can use a soft stretcher, but the victim should be face down. For the treatment of spinal injuries you must immediately contact the nearest medical facility.

After delivery in the hospital is often the need for surgical intervention to correct the consequences of trauma. Treatment of injuries of the spine is a rather complex, long and laborious process. Patience and effort are required from both the patient and the attending physician.

READ Classification of scoliosis: types, types, forms, degree of spinal curvature

Recovery from spinal injury

The most difficult process when you restore functions of the spine is the return of sensation and motor function. The cause of these disorders is a blood disorder that causes a deficiency in the metabolism. After injury to the cervical or thoracic spine often occurs atrophy of the abdominal muscles. They are no longer able to perform the function of a corset. Damage to the lumbar spine lead to loss of motor function of the lower extremities, sometimes of organs located in the lower part of the pelvis.

Treatment of injuries of the spine provides for the complexes of special exercises. Therapeutic exercises necessary for recovery of the musculoskeletal system or of individual body parts and organs. Special gymnastics is the surest way to renew the metabolism and lost motor function.

Первая помощь при травме позвоночника: реабилитация Rehabilitation after injury by physical therapy has a number of advantages:

improvement of blood circulation, which leads to resorption of hematomas, congestion in blood vessels and lymph, proper metabolism in the body;
improvement of regenerative abilities of tissue and nerve cells;
aktiviziruyutsya defenses;
eliminates pain, stimulates the work of the main organs and systems of the body.

All classes are held under the close supervision of a physician. A new and popular method of recovery after any injury of the spine is water, water treatments and gymnastics. Popular and effective breathing exercises, which helps in the first place to restore the cardiovascular system, thyroid, immune and nervous systems.

In addition, when injuries of the cervical and thoracic spine are often problems with the respiratory system. And this kind of gymnastics is aimed at solving such problems. Breathing exercises is the Foundation of the exercise system of yoga.

After the injury is very important properly selected set of exercises, exercises for rehabilitation should be conducted exclusively under the supervision of a specialist.

READ Cervical-cranial syndrome (vertebral cervicobrachialgia other varieties of the syndrome)

Massage as a way of rehabilitation

Another traditional, but no less effective method of rehabilitation is massage. They will help to quickly return the patient to normal life. During massage rehabilitation using the following therapies:

Classical massage. Held hands, uses techniques such as stroking, rubbing. These movements stimulate blood flow to the affected parts of the body for a gradual restoration of balance in the work.

Point massage. It is carried out for acupressure on specific points to stimulate specific organs and areas of.

Hardware massage. This type of massage performed various mechanical, pneumatic, electrical massage devices, which, depending on its specificity, a specific method to act on the affected organs.

In the recovery process after back surgery usually involves several specialists. This ensures proper monitoring of the victims. Rehabilitation after surgery differs from a complex of exercises for patients to whom surgical intervention was not applied.

Helping the person with spinal cord injury, the main rule — do no harm. If confidence in a situation of no or there is a great risk of harm, it is better to wait for the health workers, because the worsening of a spinal cord injury can carry irreversible consequences: disability of the victim or even death.

Providing first aid should be focused and attentive. Panic and excessive emotionality can only hurt.