Little Rock Personal Injury Lawyer - Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal Cord Injuries and New Treatments

Frank Bailey — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:29:40 GMT

Are cars really safer? We have seen so many people with serious spinal cord injuries resulting from head on collisions, I wonder if more can’t be done to make cars safer…

But that is for another day…Today I want to talk about new procedures that can help victims of this type of injury. Each year almost 11,000 people suffer spinal cord injuries that result in paraplegia. The average age ranges from 31 to 40 years old.

Fifty years ago there was little that could be done to treat this type of injury and most injuries were fatal. Today modern medicine has made great strides in treatment of these patients, but we have a long way to go.

Medrol is a treatment option for acute spinal cord injury. This is a corticosteroid. If given within eight hours of injury it works by reducing damage to nerve cells and decreasing inflammation. Another treatment is immobilization by a collar or brace. Sometimes emergency surgery is necessary.

Once the patient is stabilized attention is focused on the problems that accompany this type of injury…blood clots, urinary infection deconditioning, or pressure sores, to mention a few.

The newest innovations are lighter wheelchairs, computer driven tools, and electrical stimulation devices. With the help of these new devices the life of a spinal cord victim is made more bearable.

Doctors have found that recovery, if it occurs, starts between a week and six months. Some progress has even been noted after two years.

The long term effects can be devastating on the victim and the victim’s family. Truly no amount of money can make the victim whole again. That is why we all need to support research on stem cells and its possible effect on these victims. Why does our President block this type of research? Shouldn't we as a nation do everything we can to help cure these tragic injuries?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

Carnival Ride Collapses; 23 injured

Sach Oliver — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:04:20 GMT

State investigators were trying to determine what caused a spinning carnival ride at a county fair to collapse and injure 23 people.

The carnival ride, called the Yo-Yo, collapsed shortly after 6 p.m. Friday at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, about 80 miles southeast of Sacramento, California.

The Yo-Yo ride has a series of metal arms extending from a center poll. A chair is attached to the end of each arm by a chain, and the arms and chairs swing outward as the machine spins and picks up speed.

The accident occurred when all of the arms and chairs suddenly collapsed, dragging the passengers on the ground until the machine finally came to a halt, according to witnesses.

All of the victims had been released from hospitals Saturday except for a 12-year-old girl listed in good condition, according to Sgt. Dave Seawell of the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department.

Injuries of this nature usually cause more damage than what is detected at an emergency room screening. Spinal injuries from falling and being dragged may have long lasting effects and require extensive treatment. The seriousness of the spinal injury is something that should be taken seriously and should not be ignored.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sach Oliver

Tackling in Football Can Lead to Injury

Drew Dixon — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:07:13 GMT

It is not often that it is a good thing when someone one is let go from their job; but in the case of Kevin Everett being released might truly be a blessing. The Buffalo Bills released Kevin Everett on Tuesday, clearing the way for the former tight end to receive disability benefits for the spinal cord injury that ended his career.

Everett was initially paralyzed from the neck down after a violent collision with then-Denver receiver Domenik Hixon. Doctors doubted Everett would walk again, but the Texas native regained many motor skills, including the ability to walk without assistance.

Everett suffered a fracture dislocation between the third and fourth cervical vertebra. Axial loading of excessive force to the cervical spine has been documented as the primary cause of these injuries. When the head is in a neutral position, the normal alignment of the spine is one of extension because of the lordotic curve. With the head in a neutral position or further extended, forces of contact can be partially dissipated by an athlete's well-developed musculature of the neck. When the head is rotated to a chin-down position even as little as 30 degrees the normal cervical lordosis is straightened and the forces of impact to the top of the head are transmitted directly to the cervical vertebrae. When a player in this position collides with another player (termed spearing), the head is stopped, the trunk is still moving, and the cervical spine is crushed between the two. Therefore, players who use the top of their helmets to tackle, block, or strike opponents are at greatest risk.

This should be a reminder to all parents that despite the size and speed in the professional game, there tends to be more serious injuries at the lower levels of football, largely because the athletes aren’t as skilled and the coaching isn’t quite as good. Therefore, it is important for parents to make sure that their children know the proper technique to use when making a tackle.

For more information on football in general and how to properly make a tackle check out the coaches guide to tackling at http://www.usafootball.com/pages/guide/coaching/index?id=16&p=29.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Drew Dixon