Many spinal cord injury patients face unique health concerns as a result of their injury. These involve pressure ulcers, or bedsores, which result from decreased circulation and feeling, as well as from the constant body weight over bony prominences. This type of pressure occurs in a healthy person, but when pressure on these areas causes pain, they can just shift their weight or turn over in bed to get their circulation going again. For a spinal cord injury patient, the sensation of pain is decreased, delayed, or blocked from reaching the brain. And turning over in bed is not as simple as it would be for a non-injured patient, because the spinal injury patient may find it difficult or impossible to accomplish without assistance.
Bladder and kidney infections are also common complications of spinal cord injury. These infections occur because many spinal cord injuries affect the injured patient’s ability to urinate. To compensate, a small tube is generally inserted into the bladder to empty the patient’s urine.
