7 replies to this topic

[miKE25]

Hi Im Michael and Ive been Injured incompletly in the c-6 area of my spine. Ive been like this for a year and six months exactly. when doctors showed me the finger nail sized bruse on my spine,I couldent understand it! how can that little bruse cause so much damage! Ive been geting movment and sensation back little bye little. I am still very much paralized though. My question is how much longer will I continue to get somthing back if any? I know each injury is different,but I was just wondering about the people out there that can relate in any way. also does rehab boost it are do you get back what you get back reguardless of the exersise? thanks

[JimG]

miKE25, on May 17 2010, 08:07 PM, said:

Hi Im Michael and Ive been Injured incompletly in the c-6 area of my spine. Ive been like this for a year and six months exactly. when doctors showed me the finger nail sized bruse on my spine,I couldent understand it! how can that little bruse cause so much damage! Ive been geting movment and sensation back little bye little. I am still very much paralized though. My question is how much longer will I continue to get somthing back if any? I know each injury is different,but I was just wondering about the people out there that can relate in any way. also does rehab boost it are do you get back what you get back reguardless of the exersise? thanks

The ONE thing that I've noticed about SCIs.....

We're all unique and different. No two of us are alike.....even those of us with the same level of injuries.


I know a C5 who can ski "normally" with outriggers, is a paralympian cyclist, but needs crutches for balance, and has limited use of his hands.

I recently met another C5 who was told he'd never walk again, but today.....you would never know he had an SCI, and now teaches yoga, kickboxing and breaks horses (again).

Both of them are 5 years out from their injuries



Yes....do your physical therapy. It's invaluable, and good for your overall health.

OTOH.....a large part of your question is that the body takes times to heal itself, and working harder (intensity) doesn't make your body heal faster.

At 18 months.....you still have a long way to go and recover I'd bet.

[JimG]

dealing w/ it, on May 17 2010, 08:52 PM, said:

Well said JimG:
So very true; we are all different no matter how alike our injury is.
Mike25: Never let go of working out (PT) while you still can--it's a good thing. If you were to just stop working every possible "return" you will be the only one which can judge for yourself if you lost it again.
18 months is very young indeed.
As for the bruise; I had a nitrogen bubble (decompression sickness or The Bends) cause a liaison at T-6, it swelled to pinch off the nerve caused a "small" bruise too.
Check out; My Story
Have a good day and good luck.

Another good example for the OP....

We're the same level.

We both ambulate about the same, but from the article....you had numbness.

I have full sensory.

[love&hate]

miKE25, on May 17 2010, 03:07 PM, said:

Hi Im Michael and Ive been Injured incompletly in the c-6 area of my spine. Ive been like this for a year and six months exactly. when doctors showed me the finger nail sized bruse on my spine,I couldent understand it! how can that little bruse cause so much damage! Ive been geting movment and sensation back little bye little. I am still very much paralized though. My question is how much longer will I continue to get somthing back if any? I know each injury is different,but I was just wondering about the people out there that can relate in any way. also does rehab boost it are do you get back what you get back reguardless of the exersise? thanks

hey Miky

It all comes down to nerv damage. We are all different because damage on our spine is unique. At this point nobody can tell you what you will or will not get back. Nobody really knows. Even doctors that did your surgery. In my case only half of my body is paralyzed. At first i lost everything because of trauma to spine but after some time i got some function back. I think it took me 4 years to reach a plateau. I was watching half of my body rapidly recovering when other half was barely getting anything back. I was putting the same amount of effort doing exercises on both sides of body. At some point my right side became a lot stronger then paralyzed side. You could even tell just looking at me that I was one side kind of guy (lol). Anyway, after some time i focused on the bad side only.. I tried to alter my routine and all efforts to improve my "bad" side without much of a result.
What I'm trying to say here is that If you are destined to get something back you will no matter what. Unfortunately, same thing applies to not getting something back. That being said, rehab is necessary in order to progress, get stronger and feel better. You can only get better from PT. Cant really get worse.

[wheeliebear75]

GREAT pearls of wisdom from BOTH JimG & love&hate. I know it's not what ya want to hear......you were hoping for a time table or some clue as to whether you would be regaining more function.......but basically hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. In my case it was apparent early on that I'd be getting at least some function back but no clue as to how much of it I'd be getting back. I'd say my best/most noticeable improvements were from about 10wks-18mo., after that 18mo. mark no matter how hard I tried I got little to no further improvements to which I then started being angry with both myself & PT for said stall in improvement. So if I can save you from feeling as I did if it doesn't work just understand that just as JimG & love&hate said we don't always get all of it back but it doesn't hurt to try.

[The Black Sheep]

I think the best and most common quote you'll see on this forum is that every SCI is different. I've heard from and met some people who were diagnosed as a complete, and 2 years later they're on their feet. I've seen the opposite too, so it's really something you cannot predict.

From my own paralysis, I'm an incomplete between T2-T7. I start to lose sensation below T2, but my level of paralysis is around T7. I bruised my spine almost 12 years ago and the first couple doctors I saw said it was permanent. Some said if I didn't recover anything before 3-4 months, I never would. I've actually had the most recovery about 5 years ago when I was able to stand up without an aid. I've been able to waddle in a walker and every month I can go a little farther. This is happening years and years after any doctor told me I could.

My opinion on the matter is that a doctor doesn't know. They've seen plenty of paralysis patients, but they're all unique and they aren't always right. I think determination and PT are DEFINITELY going to encourage recovery, though. 1 year and 6 months is still pretty early, I think, and there's still a great chance to recover, especially being incomplete. I think when the doctor says you only have a certain window of time to recover, they're considering the amount of swelling that goes down or the probability of scar tissue developing... I think they're just guessing though =) Keep up the hard work. Independence is wonderful, and the harder to work towards it, there will always be some degree of success.

[sorefm]

miKE25, on May 17 2010, 04:07 PM, said:

Hi Im Michael and Ive been Injured incompletly in the c-6 area of my spine. Ive been like this for a year and six months exactly. when doctors showed me the finger nail sized bruse on my spine,I couldent understand it! how can that little bruse cause so much damage! Ive been geting movment and sensation back little bye little. I am still very much paralized though. My question is how much longer will I continue to get somthing back if any? I know each injury is different,but I was just wondering about the people out there that can relate in any way. also does rehab boost it are do you get back what you get back reguardless of the exersise? thanks

I'm late to this thread, but I'll add my bit. I work hard in rehab, I work hard out of rehab. I've been lucky to get a lot back but I also still have significant deficits and B&B issues. When I was in the hospital I received a visit from the girl I lived next door to until I was 15 years old. I hadn't seen her in 35 years (bear with me, I've got a point to make...) About 8 years after my parents and I moved form the area she was in an auto accident that burst her L3 (she's about 25 years post accident right now). She was in a hospital and body cast for 9 months. When she walked into my hospital room she was walking without deficit and in high heels at that. Fast forward to the 1 year anniversary of my accident and I'm having lunch with her and her parents, by this time, I'm walking without any assistive device, but with significant deficit. I ask her how long it took her to regain function and how long her progress continued. Her answer? At 1 year post, she could not walk, at 25 years post, she say she walks better this year than she did last year although she still has numbness on the bottom of her feet.

P.S. She has 5 horses, and operates her own riding school without any help from anyone.