Spine

Ice reduces muscle pain and swelling. It helps most during the first 24 to 48 hours after an injury.

Rest your back for a day or two to begin healing. Use a firm mattress or the floor. Have your lower back firmly supported with a small pillow or towel. Keep your knees slightly bent, with another pillow under them. Every few hours, get up and walk as much as you can.

To fuse the spine, very small pieces of extra bone are needed. Called bone graft, this bone acts as the "cement" that fuses the vertebrae together. There are many different types of bone grafts. The fusion eliminates motion between the two fused vertebrae with a slight loss in flexibility. This surgery can help treat many different back conditions.

Fusing vertebrae in the cervical spine (the top 7 vertebrae of your spine) may help ease neck and arm pain. It may also help relieve progressive paralysis caused by compression of your nerve roots or spinal cord.

Fusing vertebrae in the lumbar spine may help ease lower back and leg pain. Anterior lumbar fusion is done through an incision in your stomach area. Depending on how many vertebrae are fused, the surgery may take from 3 to 8 hours.

Fusing vertebrae in the lumbar curve spine may help ease lower back and leg pain. Posterior lumbar fusion is done through an incision in your back. The graft is put between the vertebrae in one of two places: in the disk space or between the transverse processes.

If you've had neck surgery, follow the guidelines below and any other directions you've been given.

Car accidents, falls, sports injuries, and gunshot wounds cause most spinal cord damage. Electrical shock can also damage the spinal cord.

Treatment for an SCI starts right away, at the accident scene. You will then stay in a hospital or treatment center for rehabilitation.

After an SCI, your bladder may not work the same way as before. During your rehabilitation, your healthcare team gave you a bladder program to help you adjust to and manage these changes. Going forward, it will be up to you to follow this program on a regular basis.

An SCI does not affect your lungs, but it can affect your breathing muscles (muscles of respiration). This can affect how well you breathe. It also puts you at higher risk for pneumonia and other lung problems. Your healthcare provider and healthcare team will work with you to manage any breathing problems you have. You can also take steps daily to keep your lungs healthy and your breathing strong.

You may think that you can't be physically fit with an SCI. But you can indeed exercise, be active, and build and maintain fitness. Exercise plays a very important role in keeping you healthy. Learn here all the ways activity and exercise can help you.

Good nutrition is a vital part of staying healthy after an SCI. A nutritious and balanced diet helps you manage your weight. It provides you with the energy you need for daily activities.

Intimacy and sex after a spinal cord injury can be tough to talk about. This sheet can help get the conversation started.

Transitioning back into your daily life after a spinal cord injury can be challenging. These tips can help.

Work with your healthcare team to plan your transition home after care for a spinal cord injury.

For people with SCI who have some upper limb mobility (ability to use the shoulders, arms, or hands), there is a risk for overuse. Learn the best ways to care for your upper limbs and the rest of your body.

After spinal cord injury, you will likely have medicines as part of your treatment. These tips can help you manage them.

If you have a spinal cord injury, you may need help with tasks of daily living. Read these tips on hiring a caregiver.

After an SCI, you may be concerned about finding work again. Here are some things to consider when looking for work.

An SCI causes many changes in the body. Feeling and movement can both be affected. And the functions of many body organs may also be affected. These changes make certain problems (called complications) more likely to happen. To help limit these problems, take steps daily to manage your health. This sheet gives a brief summary of what this involves.

Pain is a common problem when you have an spinal cord injury due to changes in neurotransmittters and the nervous system. Treating this pain is important.

Cervical spine problems can often be treated without surgery. Choices may include rest, medicines, or injections. Your healthcare provider may also suggest certain exercises. All these treatments may help to ease your symptoms and are often successful.

This procedure relieves pressure on the nerve roots in the spine. It is most commonly performed to relieve the pain of stenosis. This is a narrowing of the spinal canal that is often caused by the formation of bony growths that can press against the nerve roots. The surgeon may treat one or more vertebrae.

This procedure removes a section of bone from the rear of one or more vertebrae to relieve the painful and disabling pressure of stenosis.

This surgery relieves pressure on spinal nerves in your neck. It treats a condition we call "spinal stenosis." Laminectomy makes more space for these compressed nerves. Then, your spine is stabilized with implants.

This surgery helps a painful lower spine. It treats a degenerated or damaged disc. The bad disc is removed and the vertebra bones above and below that disc are joined together. A fusion can reduce or eliminate your pain.

This minimally-invasive procedure uses special guides and fluoroscopic imaging to allow a surgeon to precisely implant stabilizing screws and rods in the spine while minimizing damage to muscles, tendons and other soft tissue in the back.

Unlike traditional back surgery, XLIF® is performed through the patient's side. By entering this way, major muscles of the back are avoided. This minimally-invasive procedure is generally used to treat leg or back pain caused by degenerative disc disease. It can be performed on an outpatient basis.

In emergencies, such as natural disasters, people with SCI may have additional needs to consider. Here's how to make a plan for your own safety.

People with certain types of spinal cord injuries may need to use a ventilator to help with breathing.

Laminotomy is a surgery that takes out a small amount of bone from the spine. This takes pressure off nerves in the low back, which eases symptoms.

Laminectomy is a surgery that removes the part of the vertebra called the lamina. Here's a look at what you can expect before, during, and after the procedure.

Lumbar microsurgery is a way of doing low-back surgery through a small incision. Learn more about this procedure.

During spinal fusion, your surgeon locks together, or fuses, certain bones in your spine that are causing pain. This limits the movement of these bones, which may help ease your pain. Even so, you may feel more flexible after a fusion because you can move with less pain.

At home, you play a major role in your recovery. Protect your back by moving safely and practicing good body mechanics. Also see your healthcare provider for follow-up visits.

You can help make your surgery a success by preparing for it mentally and physically. This preparation includes planning ahead for your surgery, having realistic expectations about what surgery can do for you, and following your healthcare provider's instructions.

During surgery, your surgeon may remove all or part of the disk (diskectomy). To reach the cervical spine, they may make an incision in the front (anterior) or the back (posterior) of your neck. Learn more about these 2 approaches.

This is a type of surgery to fix a disk in the lower back. Minimally invasive surgery uses 2 or more small cuts (incisions) instead of 1 large incision. This may lead to less pain after surgery, and faster recovery.

This is a type of surgery on the bones of your backbone (spine). This type of surgery uses smaller cuts (incisions) than standard surgery. This often causes less harm to nearby muscles and other tissues.