Question
Hi
I'm from Nepal. My brother is only 26 years, before 3 years he had a serious bus accident on the way to Delhi and lost his sense below chest. By the doctor's report we knew that his spinal cord is injured we treated him in Nepal as well as in Delhi. The doctors tolled that the nerve of his spinal cord is wounded by the hit of the bone, but the nerve is not totally cut. Due to breakage of his bone it hurt the nerve so had lost his sense below the chest. Legs move itself frequently but he doesn't feel that. He has no sense of digestion and can't control urine and stool too.
With a hope we did many treatments and even took him to the different places but still now the case has no improvement at all. Lying down in his bed for 24 hours has been his daily routine
      Can such case be cured?
      What can we do now?
      How can the rehabilitation center give support to such disable people?
      I would be thankful to hearing from you as soon as possible.
      Thank you
       Lata Niroula.


Answer
Hi Lata,
Thanks so much for your questions.

Unfortunately, there are no known cures for spinal cord injuries but there is extensive ongoing research being done all around the world to help reverse the affects of spinal cord injuries.

Think of the spinal cord as a piece of rope. A rope consists of many strands. When a spinal cord is damaged, these "strands" are either cut or destroyed. The spinal cord doesn't regenerate, so these "strands" remain unattatched and this causes a disruption in the communication between the brain and the body.

To further complicate matters, the blood that flows through the spinal cord begins to gather or "pool" at the point or level of the injury. This "pooling" causes swelling and scar tissue develops. This scarring can also cause a disruption of the electrical impulses traveling between the brain and body. It depends on how much scar tissue there is that determines how much feeling and muscle use there will be.

Sometimes, the damage does not happen to the spinal cord but rather to the nerves attached to the spinal cord. Nerves can regenerate and, depending on the severity of the damage, can reattatch themselves to the spinal cord. Again, it's going to depend on how bad the nerves are damaged that would determine how much feeling and muscle use an individual will regain.

Also, try not to get the spinal cord confused with nerves. There is only 1 spinal cord and it begins at the brain and runs straight down the middle of the back. There are thousands of nerves attatched all up and down the spinal cord.

I am here in the US so I am not familiar with the rehabilitation methods in your country.

I hope this helps and if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask me anytime.

Thanks again,
John McKinzie