do you know what a spinal cord injury is?
466983
A spinal cord injury usually begins with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures or dislocates vertebrae. The damage begins at the moment of injury when displaced bone fragments, disc material, or ligaments bruise or tear into spinal cord tissue. Most injuries to the spinal cord don't completely sever it. Instead, an injury is more likely to cause fractures and compression of the vertebrae, which then crush and destroy the axons, extensions of nerve cells that carry signals up and down the spinal cord between the brain and the rest of the body. An injury to the spinal cord can damage a few, many, or almost all of these axons. Some injuries will allow almost complete recovery. Others will result in complete paralysis.
1044031
are you sure that bump isn't the end of your spinal cord? ;)
785696
Put you hand on the spot. Is it hot? Is it firm or is it squishy?  \n\nIf it is hot and squishy (Soft) then get him to the doctor quickly. It could be infected.  And a spinal infection is nothing to play with.  It could lead to paralysis.
592263
The situation you describe is classic for someone with pre-existing cervical stenosis who suffers a fall.\n\nCervical spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal, which is the space through which the spinal cord runs, surrounded and protected by the spinal vertebrae. Different people have different amounts of space in the canal to start with, but as we age, degenerative changes to the bones, discs and ligaments gradually encroach upon the canal and there is less room for the spinal cord.\n\nSymptoms of cervical cord compression (termed "myelopathy") often develop gradually over a period of years, though may become rapidly progressive over a few months. However, if a spinal canal is narrowed down so there is very little room for the cord to move, then a fall (or rear-end accident, or anything that jerks the neck about) can suddenly produce symptoms. The whole body numbness you describe is common. Sometimes people fall and suddenly develop weakness, usually more in hands/arms than legs' this is called "central cord syndrome". The symptoms result from banging the cord against bony prominences or discs.\n\n"Cervical spinal stenosis" as such is not caused by a fall. The canal can become narrowed as the result of a neck fracture or traumatic disc herniation, but those are different pathologies to what you describe, as best I can tell.\n\nMy guess is that you had spinal stenosis before the fall, although it had not yet caused you obvious symptoms. The fall mildly injured your spinal cord, and left you at risk for more rapid worsening of your pre-existing condition. However, your neck was almost certainly not "unstable" from the fall. Without a fracture or ligamentous injury, there is no need for a collar or neck brace and I would not generally prescribe one in the situation you describe. (I'm a neurosurgeon with experience and publications in spinal surgery.)\n\nI am very sorry to hear of your current condition. Once the spinal cord has taken injury, from a fall and/or from progressive spinal stenosis and compression, it is difficult to be certain how much function someone will recover. Myelopathy has a very uncertain course: usually after surgery, about 1/3 get better, 1/3 stay the same, and 1/3 continue to deteriorate despite MR scans showing a decent result in terms of decompression of the cord (making space for it.) We are not yet very good at predicting who will be in which group (though research is ongoing.)\n\nIf, however, you have not had repeat imaging of your neck after surgery, I would recommend this to confirm that there is no residual compression of the spinal cord, and to assess the degree of injury to the cord. (You did not say if you had surgery on the front or back of the neck, or at how many levels.)\n\nI've listed a few links below that may be of interest (and have some diagrams.)\n\nStandard disclaimer: Medical advice obtained via a website such as this is for general informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for seeing a physician. No proper diagnosis or prognosis can be given without personal history and examination taking.
1056327
a pinched nerve perhaps?
157194
In English it's lumbar scoliosis.  That's a curving of the spine to the side - usually two curves - the original abnormal curve and a curve to compensate for that.
302193
A man's sexual response following spinal cord injury is largely determined by the level at which his spine was injured. This is because the nerves that supply the sexual functions stem from the lower segments of the spinal cord, resulting in paralysis of certain body parts, such as the lower extremities and trunk of the body.\n\nFor a man, spinal cord injuries affect orgasm, erections, and ejaculation. Despite all this, men with spinal cord injuries have desire, erogenous zones, and feel pleasure. Many men who have lost all genital sensation are still capable of orgasms through stimulation of other body parts. A weak erection may be helped through the application of a tight rubber ring around the base of the penis. The constriction of blood flow often maintains the erection long enough for intercourse to occur. The ring needs to be removed directly after intercourse to prevent damage to the skin. For those unable to have an erection, surgical procedures exist to implant devices into the penis so that they can manually initiate an erection, or that leave the penis semi-rigid permanently. Orgasm, ejaculation, and the expulsion of semen may be assisted by using a finger-shaped electronic probe placed in the rectum to stimulate the prostate gland and seminal vesicles to produce semen. Ejaculation may also result from placing a powerful vibrator on the glans of the penis. If ejaculation is not physically possible, then sperm can be retrieved medically.\n\nMen who use indwelling catheters need to remove the catheter before intercourse, as movement during sex could push the balloon of the catheter through the sphincter of the bladder, resulting in serious damage. To help prevent a wet intercourse experience, men with spinal cord injuries can empty their bladder right before, and can avoid drinking fluids for an hour or two ahead of time.
170234
The spinal cord can heal to some extent in some cases, but it depends on the severity.  For instance, Christopher Reeve had a severe spinal cord injury, termed "complete" or ASIA Class A with very little chance of meaningful recovery.  However, in some less severe cases there is a chance of significant recovery.  There are cases of people initially paralyzed completely from the neck down who, after recovery, can walk.  However, in virtually all these cases, these patients had, at the time of initial preservation, at the very least some sensation below the level of injury indicating an "incomplete" lesion.  For more information, try the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA).
226238
If you mean spinal cord ( Backbone ) yes
766019
Your neck has seven vertebrae. A broken neck refers to a fracture or dislocation of the bones (vertebrae) of the neck. Any strong or  forceful blow may cause trauma to the neck bones and result to fracture or a broken neck. It may also cause dislocation of the neck bones. Severe and sudden twist to the neck may also lead to dislocation.\n\nA neck fracture is normally caused by severe trauma to the neck. Examples of trauma could be: \n>>Falls, such as from a horse or bike \n>>Collisions, such as motorcycle or automobile \n>>Diving into shallow water \n>>Severe and sudden twist to the neck \n>>Severe blows to the head or neck area\n\nAt what point your neck will break would depend on the strength of your bone and anatomical variation as well as the amount of impact of the force applied.☺
1036215
JS,\nI'm somewhat familiar with your situation as I'm pretty much in the same boat.  I'm 54 and have degenerative disk disease (DDD) with 11 herniated and/or bulging disks in my upper and lower back.  It sounds like you might have the same thing along with the scoliosis.  Have you had an MRI of your upper back?  It's not a big deal knowing it, since there's no cure or treatment for DDD, in fact they're not sure what causes it.  The bottom line with DDD is there's nothing they can do but treat the pain.  Injuries to the spinal cord or the nerves that attach to the spinal cord do not heal themselves nor will they "reroute" themselves as other nerves in your body sometimes can.  With spinal nerve damage, once it happens, you've got it forever.\n\nI've got a damaged nerve on the left side of the T3/T4 disk that's been causing me constant pain for over 3 years now.  I was coughing, of all things, and blew the disk out, which crushed or dented the nerve.  I've been in constant, terrible pain ever since.  Every hour, every day, it hasn't let up, not even for a second.  There's no "comfortable position," no way to ease that "ice pick in the back" pain I have.  It just "is" and it takes over every aspect of your life.  Sometimes I do something, move a certain way, and bingo, the pain shoots up near the top of the scale.  Sometimes it goes back to "normal" (around a 3 or 4 on the pain scale) after a few minutes and sometimes it stays up there around an 8 or 9 for two or three days. Sometimes I can do some particular thing without making it worse and then I do the same thing a week later and I'm back in the jackpot.  It seems there's no reason or rhyme to it.  \n\nI've had 5 Epidural Steroid Injections (ESI), which unfortunately did nothing but give me diabetes, one more thing I have to deal with.  Ok, I should say that the docs think the ESI *did* work, in that it caused the disk to shrink just as it was supposed to, but unfortunately the physical damage to the nerve was already done and that's what is causing the chronic pain.  \n\nI'm taking some pretty strong pain killers, morphine and codeine (can you spell "addict"?), plus I've just started Lyrica.  I tried Neurontin a couple of years ago but it didn't help.  I'm hoping the Lyrica will help this time and maybe I can get off the morphine, which, for one thing doesn't work all that well but also it has some bad side effects.  Mine aren't as bad as some I've talked to, but they're bad enough.  Yes, I know it could be worse and while I have a great deal of sympathy for others that are worse off than me, hearing about the plight of someone else doesn't make me feel any better.\n  \nI'm also taking some stuff called Zanaflex (generic name: Tizanidine) which, while it has some side effects, really helped when I started getting extremely sharp, radiating pains that went from the damaged nerve at the T3/T4 site, down the back of my left arm and up the back of my neck.  The Zanaflex stopped the pain right away and it's one of the best meds I've ever taken when it comes to doing what it's supposed to.  I stopped taking it for a day and the pains came back, so I know it's working.  Zanaflex is a muscle relaxer and apparently the pain in my arm and neck were the result of muscle spasms generated by the nerve damage in my back.\n\nThe biggest problem I have with it is that it knocks me out cold!  I've talked to others that have had different, intolerable, side effects, so it's not going to work for everyone.  I'm supposed to take 4mg three times a day but instead I take two of them (8mg) before I go to bed.  It has a dual effect of stopping the pain plus it's a fantastic sleep aid - but you better not change your mind about sleeping after you take it!  \n\nOne of the best things about it is that it
955883
This tells you that these cells do not readily divide. So onece there is damage in the spinal cord there are no cell divisions to replace the harmed cells.\n\nCommonly these non-dividing cells are said to be in the G0 phase.
930015
Go see a chiropractor quickly. He/she will evaluate you by X-ray and physical exam. You will then be started on whatever therapy is beneficial to you. I went through something similar after an accident. It helped me.
430785
You are essentially correct in your rememberance.  Since they can't repair the spinal cord yet, the operation would only be useful in the case of people who already have substantial paralysis.
1051686
It could be something as simple as a nerve being impinged by a disc, repetitive motion injury, or carpal tunnel syndrome, or it might be indicative of something more serious.  (Please see the links below.)\n\nThis is not something that falls under the "self-help" category.  Certainly, it warrants going to a doctor.  You may need to start with your primary care physician, who should then refer you to a specialist.\n\nI was hit by a car 18 years ago, and due to several degenerative conditions in my neck and back, I'll frequently experience the same thing.  There are many different treatments, should the experts find that that is also your problem.  Best wishes to you!
107774
chiropractics adjust your spinal cord to allow your body function best. they have many different techniques and will use them according to what you need. to my experience the adjustments are completely painfree (they actually feel really good)and their effect is quite fast. if you have a back or neck problem you should definitely see one (to my experience they are much more effective than physiotherapists when it comes to the matters of the spine). however make sure you choose a good chiropractitioner, someone with good experience and good reputation. my experience with chiros has been very very positive, and almost everyone in my family sees a chiro regularly. but i do know someone who saw an unexperienced chiro and she was not happy.
891873
Scoliosis is a condition that involves complex lateral and rotational curvature and deformity of the spine. It is typically classified as congenital (caused by vertebral anomalies present at birth), idiopathic (sub-classified as infantile, juvenile, adolescent, or adult according to when onset occurred) or as having developed as a secondary symptom of another condition, such as cerebral palsy or spinal muscular atrophy.\n\nfor more click here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoliosis#Cause