Being involved in a car accident can cause many injuries. While most injuries aren’t very serious and will heal over time, some are catastrophic. A spinal cord injury falls into the latter category. This injury can have serious impacts on the victim’s ability to live the same quality of life as they had prior to the wreck. While many people will think about paralysis when it comes to spinal cord injuries, this isn’t the only effect that it can have on the person. There are several others that can also change the person’s abilities and how they’re able to live their life.
Mental health impacts
The mental health impacts of this type of catastrophic injury can be devastating. Many spinal cord injury patients suffer from depression and anxiety. These may affect the person’s ability to eat or sleep normally. While it’s common to go through a period of adjustment after the injury, your mental health should slowly begin to return to normal. If it doesn’t, you may consider seeking help from a qualified mental health professional who can work with you to overcome these issues.
Skeletal effects
Some individuals who have a spinal cord injury suffer from osteoporosis and bone fractures. This is because of the slow loss of bone density that’s due to the lack of physical activity that comes with a spinal cord injury.
Another possible skeletal impact is neurogenic heterotopic ossification. This involves abnormal bone growth below the injury. Instead of the bones growing where they should, bone cells grow in the soft tissues.
Muscular system changes
One of the problematic issues that some people who have a spinal cord injury face is spasticity. This occurs when the muscles spasm and become tight. It’s caused by the muscles contracting as a safety mechanism because the body isn’t getting the signals from the brain due to the spinal cord injury.
For many patients, utilizing special stretches and going to physical and occupational therapy can reduce the spasticity. Some individuals will need to go through range of motion exercises because of a lack of limb control. People who have suffered from this type of injury in a car wreck may opt to pursue compensation from the negligent party who caused the crash. Filing the claim quickly is important since there are time limits.
