Why Seeking Help is Critical

Sach Oliver

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 436

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In dealing with spinal injuries, seeking help immediately is critical to a victim’s well being. Procrastinating with a vertebral injury can cause irreparable damage. The primary purpose of seeking immediate attention for such injuries is so that healthcare providers can practice “fracture management” in order to “[preserve] neurological function.” [1] This enables healthcare professionals to detect injuries early, and stabilize the spine (using a number of methods) to prevent neural tissue from further damage.[2] Further, successfully stabilizing the spine early minimizes spinal deformities which might develop if proper procedures are not taken up front.[3]

Healthcare professionals use a number of methods to manage a fracture of the spine, including traction, positioning, surgery, orthoses, or a combination thereof in order to restore vertebral alignment.[4] All of this is to say that seeking help is critical. Often, the spine can be injured in circumstances in which a person is able to walk away. However, one may not always know that their spine has been injured, and this is why seeking medical attention is critical. Delay in treating injuries to the spine can result in unnecessary disability or in some cases, even death. [5]

[1] Martha Somers, Spinal Cord Injuries: Functional Rehabilitation (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2001), 40.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.