Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation in Portugal

During the acute stage, it's vital that the person gets prompt medical care. The quicker the person accesses treatment, the far better his or her chances are at getting the least degree of impairment possible. Typically, similar to the all too popular SUV rollover, the injured individual will be sent to the nearest hospital or center equipped to handle spinal cord injuries.

The first couple of days of the acute phase are accompanied by spinal shock, where the person’s reflexes do not work. In this phase, it is very hard to figure out a precise diagnosis, as some function beyond what is currently being observed might occur later. During this period other complications from the injury or accident will as well be present, like bruising, brain injury, or broken bones.

As soon as the acute stage has ended and the individual has been stabilized, he or she goes into the rehabilitation phase of treatment. Treatment in this stage has the objective of returning the maximum function as possible to the individual. Since all spinal cord injuries differ, a unique plan made to help the individual function and succeed in daily life is created.

The plan usually consists of:

• Assisting the individual understand his or her injuries
• Assisting the individual to understand the details about his or her care
• Assisting the individual become as independent as possible in daily activities like wheelchair use, dressing, bathing, grooming, and eating
• Assisting the individual to learn to embrace a new lifestyle, particularly related to housing, sexual, and recreational options
• Assisting the individual learn how to instruct caregivers in the way to help them
• Preparing them for vocational rehabilitation

Generally, rehabilitation takes place at an accredited and approved spinal cord injury treatment center.

• C2 or C3: Patient is totally dependent for all care
• C4: Dependent for all care and often requires a ventilator
• C5: Patient might be able to feed themselves with assistive devices, often requires a kind of respiratory support, but might be able to break without a ventilator
• C6: Patient might be able to push themself on wheelchair indoors and might be able to carry out everyday living tasks like dressing, eating, and grooming.
• C7: Patient might be able to drive a car with special modifications or may drive a wheelchair outside
• C8 : Similar to C7
• T1-T6 : Patient might be able to become independent with self-care and also use of a wheelchair
• T6-T12 : Patient might improve sitting balance and manage to take part in athletic activities using a wheelchair
• L1-L5 : Patient might be able to walk short distances with assistive devices.