If your spinal cord is inflamed you can often know by the signs and symptoms which include back or neck pain, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness and even possible bladder or bowel control problems.
Symptoms of an inflamed spinal cord can develop over a few weeks or even more rapidly.
Spinal cord inflammation is also called myelitis which can cause a range of symptoms, depending on the location and the severity of the spinal cord inflammation.
Sensory problems, pain, weakness and dysfunction in the body can also occur with spinal cord inflammation.
MRIs can show inflammation as well as swelling and any other abnormalities within your spinal cord as well as any surrounding tissues.
The ability of the MRI to visualize inflammation of the spinal cord is also crucial for diagnosing of conditions such as transverse myelitis and other inflammatory disorders which affect your spinal cord.
Inflamed tissues tend to retain more fluid than healthy tissue.
And MRI scanners are also sensitive to changes in water content, making any inflamed areas appear brighter on the MRI scan.
Inflammation which often leads to swelling, can be readily seen on an MRI and the swelling can place pressure on your spinal cord and nerves and cause pain and other symptoms.
MRI is a key diagnostic tool to diagnose issues with the spine including transverse myelitis, where inflammation of your spinal cord is a primary feature.
To know if something is wrong with your spinal cord you can watch out for the symptoms of a spinal cord problem as well as see a doctor and have tests done including CT scans, MRI scans, X-rays etc to diagnose the spinal cord problems.
The symptoms of a spinal cord problem are weakness or paralysis in any part of your body, numbness, tingling or even loss of sensation in your fingers, feet, hands and or toes and extreme pain or pressure in your neck, back or head.
An oddly positioned or twisted neck or back are also indicators of a spinal injury.
The two common signs and symptoms of a spinal cord injury are weakness or paralysis in any part of your body and a loss of sensation or numbness and or tingling in your fingers, hands, feet or toes.
Other symptoms of a spinal cord injury include severe pain or pressure in your neck, back, head and possible loss of bladder control or bowel control and difficulty with walking and balance and impaired breathing after spinal cord injury, especially in severe cases.
Doctors check for spinal cord damage through the use of X-rays, CT scans, MRIs to visualize the spinal cord as well as surrounding structures.
Doctors will also check for spinal cord damage through assessing sensory and motor function and reflexes.
Through sensory testing to check for spinal cord damage the doctor will assess the ability for you to feel sensations such as vibration, temperature, pain and light touch.
Doctors also evaluate your muscle strength and movement in various parts of your body and check for the ability to perform specific movements against resistance and also the doctor will check for involuntary reflexes that are checked to assess your nervous system's response to stimuli.
An ASIA impairment scale is also used to classify the severity of your spinal cord injury based on motor and sensory function, which can range from complete, "no function below the injury to normal.
And a functional independence measure assessment measures the level of independence in daily tasks, providing insights into the impact of the injury to the spinal cord.
The most serious spinal injury is the complete injury to your cervical spine, especially at the C1 or C2 level, which can lead to tetraplegia or quadriplegia, which is paralysis of all 4 limbs and your torso.
These types of spinal injuries often affect your ability to breathe independently and can be fatal.
A complete spinal injury means there is no feeling or movement below the level of the injury and your cervical spine is locate din your neck and is closest to your brain, and so injuries in these locations can disrupt signals to a large portion of your body.
Your C1 and C2 vertebrae are also at the very top of your spinal cord and any injuries to this area also often result in paralysis of all 4 limbs and your torso.
Having cervical spine injuries, especially cervical spine injuries that affect the C4 level and above can impact your diaphragm, which is essential for breathing, and can potentially require mechanical ventilation.
You can live with a damaged spinal cord although it can sometimes result in paralysis in severe cases or a limited range of movement and possible loss of bladder and bowel control depending on the severity of the spinal cord damage.
When your spinal cord is damaged it can result in loss of movement, loss of sensation and even changes in your bodily functions below the level of the spinal cord injury.
The exact severity and extent of the effects of the spinal cord damage or spinal cord injury will depend on the severity and location of the spinal cord damage or spinal cord injury.
More severe injuries to the spinal cord can result in complete loss of movement and function and paralysis and other less serious cases may just result in partial loss of sensation and you may retain some degree of motor control and sensation.
What would happen if you were to break your L1 vertebrae are it could lead to potential loss of bowel control, loss of bladder control, potential paraplegia and even impaired leg function and impaired hip function.
The severity of the effects of breaking your L1 vertebrae also depends on whether the spinal cord itself were damaged or not.
Any damage to the spinal cord at the L1 level can result in paraplegia, which means paralysis or weakness in your lower body, including your hips and legs and injuries to your L1 region can also affect the nerves that control your bladder and bowel function and can lead to incontinence or difficulty with elimination and numbness, tingling or loss of sensation in your hips and legs as well as weakness or paralysis in these areas can also occur with breakage of the L1 vertebrae.
A fracture to the L1 vertebra is also often painful and the pain can be severe and persistent and the fracture can also alter your spine's mechanics and potentially even result in increased curvature of your spine also called kyphosis and difficulty in standing upright.
You can walk with a broken L1 vertebrae as long as the fracture didn't damage your spinal cord enough to make you paralyzed.
If the fracture damaged the spinal cord enough to make you paralyzed then you won't be able to walk with the broken L1 vertebrae.
As long as the fracture to the L1 vertebrae didn't damage the spinal cord enough to make you paralyzed you can often walk with a broken L1 vertebrae.
Fractures of the L1 vertebrae or vertebra can range from minor compression fractures to more serious burst fractures.
If your spinal cord or nerves are not impacted significantly you may still be able to walk, although walking can be painful.
The L1 vertebrae is the first vertebra that is in the lumbar spine, and is located in your lower back.
The L1 vertebrae is also known as the lumbar vertebra 1.
L1 vertebrae is situated below your thoracic spine (T12 vertebra) and above your L2 vertebra.
Your lumbar vertebrae, known as L1 to L5, are the largest of your entire spine. Your lumbar spine is located below your 12 chest (thoracic).
The L1 vertebrae is a cylindrical shaped bone with a large, rectangular vertebral body which supports weight.
It also has two transverse processes which extend sideways and a spinous process which also projects backwards.