Recovery from acute spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury is the damage that occurs anywhere in the spinal cord or nerves at the end of spinal cord. The injury is most severe and is termed as acute spinal cord injury when it occurs in the cervical region and results in quadriplegia or paralysis which affects arms and legs. The injury in spinal cord may be complete or incomplete and may occur in cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral region.
Acute spinal cord injury occurs due to falls, accidents, sports or driving injuries, violence, infections or birth injuries. The disorder is diagnosed through blood tests, X rays, CT scan and MRI and requires immediate medical attention.
X rays decipher spinal cord problems, tumours, fractures while CT scan throw light precisely on abnormalities in bones and discs through cross-sectional images. MRI employs magnetic field and radio waves to spot herniated discs, blood clots and other issues that cause spinal cord compression.