Sep 23, 2017

Get To Know The Importance Of Spinal Cord Injury Exercises

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By Raymond Jones


Generally, this refers to a condition whereby a person incurs injuries in the spine or the backbone. The occurrence of these injuries may affect certain areas or parts of the backbone. The effects of these injuries include loss of sensation or paralysis. This will occur when the part affected is connected to these body parts. This, therefore, renders a person dependent since they have to depend on certain things for activities such as moving. Therefore, spinal cord injury exercises plays a very major role in improving body parts functioning and sensations.

As a matter of fact, the damage to your central nervous system or CNS could be permanent. Nevertheless, with exercises and physical rehabilitation, you can redevelop some of the functions as well as regain some independence. Therefore, it is important to ensure you are active after an injury to your spine. This is because it helps to improve your function and recovery.

In most case, people think of spinal cord injuries or SCI and being completely paralyzed all the way down from the neck. However, this usually happens if the damage is severe and when it occurs at the neck. Again, a person may be paralyzed from the waist down. Although the two are possibilities following an injury, the prognosis may vary widely based on the severity of the damage.

There are certain problems associated with any type of damage or injury. In some cases, a person may continue with his life normally while in others the person will have to use walking aids. In other cases, the damage may be severe causing one to become completely disabled. A patient loses all the sensory and motor functions when the damage is complete. On the contrary, only some specific functions might be lost by a person when damage is incomplete. With this type of occurrence, it is very possible for the person to regain back the lost functions.

In order to reduce spasticity, it is very important for one suffering from SCI to keep moving. This term spasticity refers to a scenario in which muscles and joints become tight and stiff. This causes movement to be a problem. If not well looked at, it may cause pain and muscle spasms.

This condition can be reduced in the case where flexibility is improved. This is achieved through passive and self-motion exercises. On the passive aspect of motion, physical, rehabilitation and occupational therapies are carried out. With this, a patient is able to move muscles and joints easily. A patient can, however, perform these motion exercises in a self-range. This is however possible where after the injury your arm can be moved fully or partially.

Stretching activities are very important for SCI patients undergoing recovery process. They should carry out these activities daily. This will help in retaining and improvement of motion. The tightness of muscles makes it difficult for a patient to move from wheelchair or to dress. Independence in this case is lost.

These physicals also reduce the chances of a SCI patient from developing secondary complications. These complications may include pressure sores, infections in the urinary tract and respiratory disorders among others. The physical exercises try to reduce problems associated with chronic spasticity, weight gain and pain.




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