How Should I Provide Care for a Spinal Cord Injury?

During the nursing period of spinal cord injury, attention should be paid to active turning over, tapping on the back, and suctioning sputum to avoid respiratory tract obstruction and respiratory system complications. When patients turn over, they need to maintain axial turning to avoid secondary spinal cord injury caused by incorrect turning positions. During nursing, attention should be paid to skin care and care of pressure points to prevent bedsores.

1. Patients should be able to maintain axial turning of the head, neck, and trunk when turning over regularly to avoid secondary spinal cord injury caused by spinal cord distortion.

2. During the patient's turning over, attention should be paid to massaging bony prominences or using anti-bedsore pads to protect these areas.

3. During the patient's treatment, adequate nutrition should be provided, and attention should be paid to avoid aspiration pneumonia caused by nausea or vomiting during eating.

4. Enhanced care should be provided for the patient's bowel movements and urine excretion, including the use of indwelling catheters and timely cleaning of feces when necessary.

5. Respiratory tract management should be strengthened.

6. Attention should be paid to observing the patient's lower extremities, and methods such as compression stockings and lower limb compression pumps should be used for care when necessary to prevent the formation of venous thrombosis in the lower extremities.

The spinal cord is the nerve tissue inside the vertebral canal of the spine. Spinal cord injury is an injury to this nerve tissue. After spinal cord injury, different manifestations may occur depending on the degree of injury. If it is a complete injury, it may cause paralysis below the level of injury, such as quadriplegia, paraplegia, or bowel and bladder dysfunction. If it is a partial nerve spinal cord injury, there may be partial limb numbness and weakness or partial bowel and bladder dysfunction.