Upper Spinal Cord Injury. For an injury impacting the lumbar spinal cord for example it can lead to paralysis below the waist while preserving your motor functions in your upper body and arms. If you ve recently experienced a spinal cord injury it might seem like every aspect of your life has been affected. A spinal cord injury damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal cauda equina often causes permanent changes in strength sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury. Sci can result in complete or partial paralysis of the upper limbs depending on the level and completeness of the lesion.
For complete injuries in the cervical spine however this often leads to a loss of motor function in the lower and upper body tetraplegia which is also known as quadriplegia. The next step in treatment of a spinal cord injury is immobilization. What functional impairments occur to the upper limbs following spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury is defined as traumatic damage to the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal. Improvement in upper limb function is identified as a top priority for people with tetraplegia following spinal cord injury. A spinal cord injury damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal cauda equina often causes permanent changes in strength sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury.
Sci can result in complete or partial paralysis of the upper limbs depending on the level and completeness of the lesion.
Improvement in upper limb function is identified as a top priority for people with tetraplegia following spinal cord injury. In order to reach this goal it is important to prevent secondary complications of the upper limb occurring in the acute phase. What functional impairments occur to the upper limbs following spinal cord injury. Sensory and autonomic deficits as well as pain are also important consequences of sci that can impact upper extremity function. For an injury impacting the lumbar spinal cord for example it can lead to paralysis below the waist while preserving your motor functions in your upper body and arms. 1 management of the tetraplegic upper limb aims to maximize hand function to enable performance of daily tasks as independently as possible.