Mark Roman | December 22, 2017 | Personal Injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when the protection surrounding your cord is damaged. Trauma, from a violent motor vehicle accident or a vicious sports injury, can cause this damage, which can result in the loss of the ability to send and receive messages from the brain to the body’s system that controls sensory and motor function.
One of the terms you’ll often hear in reference to an SCI is complete or incomplete. Understanding the difference between these two injury types can help you better predict your medical needs if you are injured.
An incomplete spinal cord injury means that the ability of the spinal cord to communicate with the brain is not completely lost. Usually, some sensation is possible below the level of the injury. Others may be able to move some muscles below the site of the injury, with the extent of control dependent on the severity of the injury.
Pain is another thing associated with an incomplete SCI; many survivors report issues with chronic pain.
On the other hand, a complete spinal cord injury is a total lack of sensory and motor function below the level of the injury, thus it may lead to paralysis. In the days after a spinal cord injury, the symptoms between complete and incomplete are almost indistinguishable, but over time, small differences will begin to emerge.
A few characteristics of a complete SCI include loss of sensation, complete loss of motion, difficulty controlling bladder and bowels and difficulty breathing (if the injury is high enough on the body).
Contact the Clearwater Personal Injury Law Firm of Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Today
For more information, please contact the legal team of Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers for a free initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer in Clearwater. We have four convenient locations in Florida: Clearwater, New Port Richey, and Tampa.
We serve throughout Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County, and its surrounding areas:
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers – Clearwater Office
1811 N. Belcher Road, Suite I-1
Clearwater, FL 33765
(727) 787-2500
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers – Congress Ave Office
2360 Congress Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33763
(727) 591-5610
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers – Tampa Office
6601 Memorial Hwy Suite 202
Tampa, FL 33615
(813) 686-7588
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers – New Port Richey Office
2515 Seven Springs Blvd.
New Port Richey, FL, 34655
(727) 815-8442