Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation after a Serious Accident

Spinal cord injuries are all too common in auto accidents, especially motorcycle accidents, and should not be taken lightly. Rehabilitation can be very long-term, and very expensive. Spinal injury rehabilitation requires a medical team of specialists from physical therapy to vocational assessment. If your spinal cord injury was caused by the carelessness of another person in an accident, contact the spinal cord injury lawyers at Chester Law Group to speak with one of our attorneys and get assistance on what you need to do to protect your rights

If you’ve had the misfortune of being in a motorcycle accident and have spinal cord injuries, then you know the fear, anxiety, and confusion suffered about what has happened to you. Certainly, if you have survived, you will have a sense of relief but now confronted with the disabilities you will have to live with.

Rehabilitation is the next step to your recovery. Depending on the severity of your injuries, therapies for recovery can be long-term and very expensive. If you’ve been in a motorcycle accident and it is the result of someone else’s negligence, it is important that you contact a motorcycle injury lawyer to find out what your rights are. The Ohio-based Chester Law Group is an experienced personal injury law firm that takes cases in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents that involve brain and spinal cord injuries. Their lawyers can help you in your quest for information on doctors, advances in medical technologies as well as legal advice.

Your rehabilitation program should be oriented around your particular needs and should combine physical therapies, rebuilding skill activities, and counseling. Counseling helps to provide social and emotional support and should include family members as well as friends.

The rehabilitation program should involve a medical team led by a doctor who specializes in physical medicine with assistance from social workers, physical and occupational therapists, vocational therapists, recreational therapists, psychologists, nutritionists, rehab nurses, speech therapists, and other specialists. You will be assigned a caseworker or manager who coordinates the program.

 

Spinal Cord Injury Rehab Phases

During the first phase of your rehabilitation, healthcare providers will concentrate on your limbs (arms and legs) to build strength for mobility and your communication skills as these are the two most important areas of function. Initial mobility may require hardware such as a walker, wheelchair, or leg braces. Communication skills such as writing, typing, and telephone may also require some form of aid.

Physical therapy requires appropriate exercise programs to strengthen weak and damaged muscle. Since bowel and bladder dysfunction are common, healthcare providers will establish bowel and bladder regimes to teach you toilet practices and grooming techniques. Other programs will be established for problems with muscle spasms, arc reflex dysfunction, and pain. Other therapists will help you with occupational treatments to help redevelop fine motor skills.

Next, vocational rehabilitation comes into play. This is to determine whether you can work at some point and what kinds of work you can do. Professionals will assess basic working skills, dexterity, physical and cognitive capabilities which determine whether you will be able to work. Once this has been established, the type of workplace that is suitable for you is determined along with any special equipment you might need to carry on that employment. If your disabilities prevent you from returning to a workplace, therapists will direct you to activities that provide a sense of productiveness. These activities include hobbies, disabled special interest groups, and community events.

Recreational therapy involves building your abilities to participate in athletic events. Recreational involvement for victims of spinal cord injuries develops a more balanced and relatively normal outlook and this also allows for socialization and self-expression.

Unfortunately, the spinal cord cannot be rebuilt at this time. If you have damage to axons without cell body damage outside the spinal cord, axons can heal and reinnervate organs and tissues. Severe damage to neuronal cell bodies and fiber tracts in the spinal cord causing neural tissue to die will not regenerate.

As further research is done; more information becomes available to understanding the biological mechanisms that allow for regeneration in the spinal cord. New rehabilitation treatments that retrain neural pathways through forced motion and electrical stimulation of muscle groups are helping patients to regain lost function with great success so long as a number of axons are left intact. Great advances in Neuroprosthetics and computer interfaces have been reported to work well for the severely impaired.

If you’ve been in a car, truck, or motorcycle accident and your brain/spinal injury was caused by the carelessness of another person, you may be entitled to financial compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages. These types of accidents often involve long-term rehabilitation and are very expensive.

You need to consider continued medical care and the loss of your ability to earn wages in the future. Contact one of our experienced spinal cord injury lawyers today. We are a personal injury law firm experienced in car, truck and motorcycle accidents involving spinal cord and brain injuries, and we can guide you through a Personal Injury Settlement. It is important that you consult with an attorney before you attend a Defense Medical Exam (DME) and don’t ask a defense doctor for medical advice. Our specialized motorcycle injury lawyers will advise you every step of the way.

Call Chester Law Group today to get the help you want from people that you can trust at 800-218-4243.