Everything You Need To Know About Suffering From A Spinal Stroke
A spinal stroke is characterized by tragic occlusive vascular lesions that affect the spinal cord. It is traditionally the result of an acute onset and it is associated with paresthesias, bilateral weakness and sensory loss. It occurs if one of your three main arteries that are responsible for supplying blood to your spinal cord becomes blocked.
When a main artery is blocked, the spinal cord is also then deprived of oxygen which results in substantial injury as well as permanent destruction to your nerve fibers that are already quite vulnerable. The disability that results because of this will ultimately depend on how severe the actual injury is to the spinal cord. A spinal stroke is considered extremely rare and is reported to affect only 12 out of every 100,000 people, which is 12 people too many.
Symptoms And Causes of a Spinal Cord Infarction
There are a few different conditions that can naturally cause a spinal stroke without physical injury including:
- Atherosclerosis of the aorta
- A surgical accident that happens if the aortic aneurysms is clipped
- An abscess or tumor on an artery
- Blockages in blood vessels resulting from diabetes, systemic lupus and tuberculous meningitis
- Blood clots
- Severe low blood pressure
- Vasculitis
In a few rare reported cases, a spinal stroke can even result from excessive pressure put on the spine from pregnancy, strenuous exercise and back injury which causes a spinal disc to extrude and enter into an artery which ends up blocking the blood flow.
Depending on the underlying mechanism of the infarction, symptoms may begin very gradual and slow and then progress or they can start out extremely acute and abrupt. Specific symptoms vary from person to person and depend ultimately or where the infarction occurs. Symptoms often include pain, quadriplegia, paraplegia, progressive or immediate limping, spastic muscles, loss of reflexes, loss of sense of temperature and pain and loss of bowel and bladder control.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is usually determined after all other possible conditions have been completely ruled out. Since many tests will not reveal a spinal stroke, it is very important that a large variety of tests are done to search for possible causes of the disability. A helpful test is an MRI scan however, it does not always reveal the spinal cord infarction either.
Treatment
Once an individual suffers from a spinal stroke, sadly there are no treatments that are available to reverse the damage. However, as some of the acute inflammation begins to decrease, a bit of the functioning may slowly return. Any underlying conditions that are resulted due to the spinal cord infarction need to be properly addressed and treated.
Rehabilitation And Recovery
Rehabilitation after a spinal stroke primarily involves teaching the affected individual to be independent despite any new limitations and disabilities that have been rendered because of the injury. Occupational and physical therapists are crucial to this endeavor as these are large challenges to overcome.
Prognosis And Concerns
Unfortunately, the prognosis is extremely poor for sufferers of a spinal cord infarction. There is a high death risk due to blood clots forming in the lungs or due to an infection of the lungs or the bladder. Skin ulcerations can also result due to extended lengths of inactivity as well and disability is quite significant and common resulting in paraplegia and quadriplegia.
When the individual loses sudden loss of independence and functioning, severe depression is often prompted both slowly and suddenly. Supportive psychotherapy is recommended as an adjunctive aid for optimal recovery.
Treatment Team
Individuals that suffer from an infarction are traditionally cared for by psychiatrists, neurologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. Specific complications may also require consultations with pulmonologists and urologists.