Question
QUESTION: Hi,

can you please give me some information on how the body/brain etc reacts to the breakage of the T4 Vertebra and are there any long term/fatal consequences of this type of break??

Many thanks
Leanne

ANSWER: hi leanne

if you break the t4 vertebra there aren't necessarily any consequences as far as paralysis goes. your body would try to heal it as it does other broken bones-

if however the area swells too much or the spinal cord gets pinched when the injury occurs, there can be much more serious and sometimes permanent damage

thanks
leslie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your reply.  If I could ask you another that would be great.....if you have a fall and the T4 gets broken as a result of the fall, if you are moved without knowing the bone is broken can this cause further damage or indeed could it cause more trauma or have a fatal ending??

Many thanks

Answer
hi leanne-

in the scenario you describe... it is hard to say for sure. yes, being moved could cause further swelling in the area. but at the same time, it's not real easy to tell the vertebra is broken without an xray, etc- all of which require moving the person

so- for example, after the car wreck i was in i was telling them at the scene that i couldn't feel my legs, but they thought it was due to a badly dislocated hip. they flew me to a hospital and not for 12 hours, until they did the mri, did they know i had a SCI. I believe they did go ahead and give me a steroid though (to reduce swelling)

there is always a fine line  when it comes to this sort of thing- if it is a family member or someone who moves the fallen person, they cannot be expected to know the possibilities. even if it is an EMT, trained medically, ... how do you treat the injured person from the floor of their home?

does that make sense? it felt a little ramble-y, so if you don't get it please ask again!

thanks
leslie