A spinal cord injury (Refers to damage to the spinal medulla. ) doesn’t mean that you can’t be healthy, but it’s important to understand the potential problems and complications in order to have a better understanding of yourself, manage your health and improve your quality of life.
This chapter isn’t intended to alarm you, impose restrictions, or tell you how to live your life, but rather to give you information on your condition and the most common complications of spinal cord injuries, like autonomic hyperreflexia and autonomic dysreflexia (Excessive response of the sympathetic nervous system to different stimuli under the injury. It can take the shape of exaggerated bodily reactions and symptoms include: hypertension, excessive perspiration, nasal congestion, headaches, and heartbeat below the normal threshold. Potential triggers include bladder or intestinal distension, and stimulation of the skin. ), disorders related to body temperature regulation, spasticity (A condition occurring among certain spinal cord injury victims, which is characterized by the involuntary movement of paralysed limbs usually caused by occasional muscle spasms, which may be more or less frequent. ), osteoporosis, contractures (Long and involuntary contraction of one or several muscles without lesions in the muscle fibre, which can limit articular range of movement. ), and chronic pain. These complications can appear at any time during your rehabilitation. We invite you to discuss them with the clinical team, who will recommend appropriate solutions. After reading this chapter, you will be able to make informed choices if you have one of these conditions. It will make you more vigilant when it comes to preventing complications, and thus help you remain healthy.
The key word is prevention, which can help you avoid unfortunate incidents, and increase your physical and psychological well-being.