3 replies to this topic

[ccam222]

In not sure of the answers that were given about complete . Some one said the spine is severed and then another said maybe not. My question is if it is complete and its a t12 injury would that person beable to move the legs voluntary and beable to feel if some one touches on legs or feet. I guess im just thinking that if a person is complete paralized from the waist down then nothing would move and there would be no feelings of any kind. I just have so many questions since my neice's accident i read things and it just doesnt make sense.

[nomis]

T12 complete - legs won't work and no skin sensation. But there's still influences like sympathetic nervous systems and even blood circulation that continue to work. Your niece has lost communication and control over her lower limbs but those limbs are still as alive as ever they were. Unfortunately, they have their own freedom which in reality is not a freedom. So your niece is going to have to learn to take full responsibility and care for them for it no longer happens automatically as before - she won't automatically know they are cold, she will need to use her hand to check....

[RacingAxe]

Hello ccam222, sorry to hear about your niece and understand why you are confused about what you've been told about her injuries. It seems I am making it a personal mission to try to explain away the confusion around the term 'complete'. When having a conversation about spinal cord injury which includes use of the term 'complete' have the other party spell out exactly what they mean. There are three commonly used definitions that I have come across.

1) American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) definition: ASIA 'A' = Complete: No motor or sensory function is preserved in the sacral segments S4-S5.
2) Complete: no sensory or motor function below the level of injury.
3) Complete: transection of the spinal cord (severed cord).

Understanding that there are multiple definitions and agreeing on which is being discussed will go a long way to minimizing the confusion. I'm guessing that your niece is somewhere in the six month from injury time frame by your join date. Can you please let us know more about your original post

Quote

My question is if it is complete and its a t12 injury would that person beable to move the legs voluntary and beable to feel if some one touches on legs or feet. I guess im just thinking that if a person is complete paralized from the waist down then nothing would move and there would be no feelings of any kind.

and whether your niece is able to move any muscles below her waist (on command) and whether she has some sensation (close to normal) anywhere below her waist? She may have movement from spasticity and/or pain below the waist but this is very different from voluntary movement or normal sensation.

I hope you get past the confusion soon, I think you are in the right place. I tend toward being too textbook, Nomis (at least to me) tends toward philosophical, and others lean slightly away from sanity. This is a great place to get different views and if you ask questions you will learn something.

[qbounce]

Hi Ccam,

As Racingaxe stated,
You may be a whitness to spasms, involuntary muscle contractions that are sometimes mistaken for intentional movements.

Also, I DO have certain feelings in small segments below the injury level. I can't explain it, except to say that I can't feel pain, sharp vs. dull sensations, nor can I tell when I NEED to shift or move for pressure relief like many incompletes can. But I do have sensations when my skin is brushed (ie: with lotion, stretches, etc) there are certain sensative areas that I can feel, and they are different on each side. It's just what I was left with.