What are the symptoms of a spinal cord injury?
In a perfect world, you would never suffer from any type of injury. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing what the future will bring. When you least expect it, you could find your life changing as the result of a serious injury.
An example of this is a spinal cord injury suffered at your place of employment. There are many situations that can lead to this, including a fall from height and being struck by a piece of equipment.
There are many signs and symptoms of a spinal cord injury, including but not limited to:
- Muscle weakness or paralysis in the legs, arms and trunk
- Muscle spasms
- Difficulty breathing
- Digestive issues
- Changes in blood pressure and heart rate
- Loss of bladder and bowel function
One thing you need to know about a spinal cord injury is that symptoms don’t always set in at the time of the injury. Instead, they can develop over time, such as when bleeding begins to put too much pressure on the spinal cord.
If you have any reason to believe you have suffered a spinal cord injury in a work-related accident, you must call for immediate medical help. An examination will go a long way in pinpointing your injury and developing a treatment strategy.
There’s a good chance a spinal cord injury will keep you away from work for an extended period of time. For this reason, you should consider if you can apply for workers’ compensation benefits. The money you receive can give you financial relief as you focus on making a recovery.
Source: The Spine Hospital, “Spinal Cord Injury,” accessed Dec. 15, 2017