10 Tips For Spinal Fracture Recovery
The human body is complex as well as incredibly fragile. Any severe injury to the delicate central nervous system and in particular the spinal cord can have immediate and permanent results that can change a person’s life forever.
Spinal injuries have always been considered to be some of the most severe forms of injury the human body can suffer and still survive.
There are many ways a spinal injury can happen. It can be developmental, from disease or a tumor. Usually, the injury is due to trauma, for example, a work-related accident or an automobile collision. Trauma can result in injury to the vertebrae without affecting the cord.
Get Spinal Fracture Recovery Tips
After you’re diagnosed with a spinal fracture, now it’s time to start the recovery process. Try these tips during your recovery.
- Rest
Our body wants a lot of power to recover itself, so getting ample rest is important. Lying around for too long can weaken your bones even more. Avoiding too much movement lets your body recover itself while also reducing the risk of another injury. Your doctor may suggest you rest for a short period. For a few weeks, you must avoid twisting, bending, and lifting.
- Cold Therapy
During Spinal Fracture Recovery, a cold therapy method may help reduce discomfort and swelling in the area surrounding the injury. Ice decreases swelling, making it an especially helpful tool immediately following an injury.
Cold therapy methods are also simple to use and do not require you to hold an ice pack in the same position during the treatment process. You can hire a device for home use while the recovery process or use a system at your physical therapy appointment.
- Healthy Eating
Try to stay hydrated and eat well-balanced meals that include vegetables and fruits. Diets that are rich in calcium and vitamin D, for example, milk, fortified cereals, and some lean proteins may better your body heal and prevent the loss of bone density.
Eating well is also important for successful rehabilitation and will help keep your weight under control after your healing process is over.
- Back Bracing
Your surgeon or physical therapist might also recommend you use a back brace to provide support throughout the recovery process. The brace temporarily immobilizes the back, serving to decrease the risk of re-injury and giving further support to the bones and muscles.
Follow your doctor’s guidance about the use of this brace. Recovery requires engaging the back muscles, so continued use of the brace might actually undermine recovery.
5. Keep In Touch With Your Surgeon
Inform your consultant quickly if you have chills, fever, night sweats, persistent drainage from your incision, the opening of your incision, bladder function, chest pain or shortness of breath new-onset/worsening pain, or sudden loss of bowel or calf pain.
6. Take Pain Medication Only as Needed
A spinal injury can be severe, and a large number of people find they need something to reduce the discomfort, especially during the time immediately after the fracture has occurred. Work with your physician to choose the appropriate type of pain relief for you.
Try not to take more pain medicine that instructed and call your surgeon if your pain is not properly controlled by your prescribed medication.
Other non-drug pain release treatments include short rest periods, gentle exercise, frequent repositioning, moist heat and massage.
- Right Way to Sit
Your sitting style can put a lot of stress on the spine. How a person sits makes a difference. Usually, patients should avoid sitting with knees higher than hips. When your physiotherapist tells you, you may start to sit but for no more than 10-15 minutes at a time.
You also need to avoid long rides while Spinal Fracture Recovery process.
Set a wedge or firm pillow on your sofa or car seat. Purchase a raised toilet seat preferably one with arms to help you when sitting and getting up off the toilet.
When getting up from a seat, smoothly move hips to the end of the seat and use your arms to push yourself up with your arms while simultaneously pushing down with your legs.
- Physical Therapy
Once you feel good, ask your doctor if you should join a rehab program or work with a physical therapist. Do activities that strengthen your back can support you avoid having more compression spinal fractures. Your physical therapy treatment plan may include:
- Daily exercise to help you avoid falls
- Methods for maintaining proper posture
- Weight-bearing exercises to improve muscles and bone strength
- Right Way to Lying Down
Lying down puts the smallest amount of pressure on your back. Your physiotherapist can help you to find the right position which is most suitable for you. Use a firm mattress or couch. Soft pillows can give support for your neck and legs. To sit up, log-roll onto your side and push off with your arms while smoothly turning your legs to the floor.
- Be careful While Taking Bath
You must follow your physiotherapist directions on when and how to bathe. Doctors typically suggest keeping the skin around your surgery clean and dry for at least 4 days after surgery. Try not to take tub baths until the surgery has recovered and you are cleared by your surgeon.
Those, who have sustained a spinal cord injury, are usually taken to the intensive care unit for Spinal Pain Treatment mesa az and can even be transferred to a nearby spine injury centre having a team of expert orthopaedic surgeons, spinal cord medicine specialists, neurosurgeons, psychologists, trained nurses and even social workers having expertise in such cases.
