Cervical/Thoracic/Lumbar Spinal Trauma
What is Spinal Trauma?
The spinal cord is made up of nerves that act as messengers between the brain and the body. Spinal trauma occurs from damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves, most often from an injury.
Damage to any part of the spinal cord can immensely impact every aspect of your life as well as cause immense pain and neurologic dysfunction.
What Causes Spinal Trauma?
Spinal trauma can occur for multiple reasons. The most common include:
- Traumatic impact to the spine that crushes, dislocates, fractures, or compresses bones in the spine.
- An injury that penetrates and cuts the spinal cord.
- Falls or accidents.
- Underlying conditions from untreated conditions cause dislocation, instability, or weakness.
What Are the Symptoms of Spinal Trauma?
Symptoms of spinal trauma depend on where they are located within the spine. Common symptoms that indicate you’re experiencing spinal trauma are:
- Weakness or paralysis in arms or legs and difficulty walking.
- Numbness in your body below where the spinal damage occurred.
- Trouble with bladder and bowel control.
How is Spinal Trauma Treated?
Dr. Jenkins is a strong believer in early intervention for spinal stabilization and mobilization to speed recovery after spinal trauma. He may perform surgery to treat cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral fractures, as well as to decompress epidural hematomas, treat herniated disks, and repair spinal instability or dislocations that may occur as a result of trauma. This includes thoracoscopic instrumentation, as well as minimally invasive approaches to the spine of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions, and other techniques tailored to the patient.