How Do Spinal Cord Injuries Affect Mobility?

Injuries to the spinal cord are serious problems that can cause many issues with motor function, nerve function and more.

Of course, these injuries can also create problems with a victim’s overall mobility. Though different factors will influence these impacts, some are more common than others.

Mild cases

Mayo Clinic discusses how spinal cord injuries affect mobility. Depending on the area of the spine injury and the severity of the damage done, mobility may end up affected to different degrees.

In more mild cases, it might affect fine motor function. This can include a person’s ability to move their fingers to the full extent, which creates much trouble doing many daily tasks that require a more precise touch. Though this is not as disruptive as some forms of plegia or paralysis, it can still leave a major impact on a victim’s life and limit their ability to do even daily things, like opening cans or writing.

Moderate cases

In moderate cases, partial or full loss of motion in one or multiple limbs may occur. A common form of this is paraplegia or paralysis of only part of the body. Many victims of spinal cord injuries will suffer from paraplegia of the legs, rendering them incapable of walking on their own. In some cases, physical therapy can help regain some range of motion and build up strength.

Severe cases

Severe cases can end in quadriplegia, in which the victim cannot move any of their limbs. In many of these cases, physical therapy cannot do much to help. Radical and new therapies, treatments and surgeries may solve this problem in the future, but currently, there is not much that doctors can do.