As long as the spine is healthy, it can withstand any heavy load. However, it should be noted that there is a limit to the strength of bone tissue, and some diseases (spinal tumors, osteoporosis) can lead to bone fragility, and even vertebrae can break like all bones.
Spinal cord injuries are serious and often occur in traffic accidents, falls from heights, or diving. Headaches and fractures of the cervical spine are especially common when swimming in shallow water.
Injuries to the neck, lower chest and lumbar spine are the most common. The presence of congenital or acquired defects in these areas can slowly affect the functioning of all organs.
After the injury, the patient feels severe pain. The pain is at the level of the broken spine, and can sometimes spread to the arms and legs, chest, and abdomen. Injuries to the neck and chest area can make it difficult to breathe. The pain decreases when the patient is lying down, and increases sharply when standing and walking. In addition to pain, there may be numbness in the hands and feet, loss of movement, paralysis, and constipation. This indicates damage to the spinal cord that runs through the spinal canal.
Everyone should know what to do with spinal cord injuries. If this happens, first place the patient on his back on a hard and flat surface and then call a doctor. When a fracture of the cervical spine is suspected, a special neck brace is placed around the patient's neck and he should be taken to the hospital immediately.
Sometimes spinal injuries occur only with pain, and until then, patients do not seek medical attention. This can lead to various degrees of paralysis as a result of the fractured vertebrae slipping and crushing the spinal nerves. Spinal radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging can help diagnose spinal injuries.
Conservative and surgical methods are used to treat spinal cord injuries. In case of mild spinal cord injury, the patient is instructed to lie on a firm bed for 20-30 days. You will then be required to wear a corset that holds your waist for more than 3 months. Painkillers and physiotherapy are used.
In severe spinal cord injuries, surgery is used. Surgery corrects the spine, removes bone fragments that crush the spinal cord, and restores the stability of the spine with the help of special metal devices. In some cases, special bone cement is given to fix the broken spine.
Kamoliddin JUMANOV,
Republican Scientific Center of Neurosurgery
Head of the Department of Pathology of the Spine,
neurosurgeon of the highest category, candidate of medical sciences.
