What is a tetraplegic patient?
Tetraplegic patients have impairment of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical segment of the spinal cord (Rowley, Forde, Glickman, & Middleton, 2001). Tetraplegia is a preferred term to quadriplegia and it presents with loss of muscle strength in all four extremities, the trunk and pelvic organs.
What is the cause of tetraplegia?
Tetraplegia is a paralysis caused by an injury of the cervical spinal cord. This can result in a partial or total sensory and motor loss of the four limbs and torso. The injuries that occur above level C4 often result in respiratory deficiency.
What is the life expectancy of a tetraplegic?
Individuals aged 60 years at the time of injury have a life expectancy of approximately 7.7 years (patients with high tetraplegia), 9.9 years (patients with low tetraplegia), and 12.8 years (patients with paraplegia).
Can you walk with tetraplegia?
Some individuals with tetraplegia can walk and use their hands, as though they did not have a spinal cord injury, while others may use wheelchairs and they can still have function of their arms and mild finger movement; again, that varies on the spinal cord damage.
Who would diagnose tetraplegia?
To diagnose tetraplegia, a doctor will assess the person’s symptoms and medical history. For example, they may ask questions about any recent accidents, or they might ask if the person has any family history of certain conditions.
Can you recover from tetraplegia?
In general, symptoms will get worse for 2 to 4 weeks before they stabilize. Recovery can then take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, but most people recover in 6 to 12 months.
How common is tetraplegia?
Below are the most common results of traumatic SCI: Complete paraplegia: 19.6% of cases. Complete tetraplegia: 12.3% of cases.
What do you need to know about tetraplegia?
Tetraplegia is defined as loss of motor or sensory function in the cervical segments of the spinal cord, impairing upper and lower limbs, the trunk, and function of the abdominal and pelvic organs.
What kind of spinal cord injury causes tetraplegia?
Definition/Description. Tetraplegia is a paralysis caused by an injury of the cervical spinal cord. This can result in a partial or total sensory and motor loss of the four limbs and torso.
Is there a differential diagnosis between paraplegia and tetraplegia?
There is no differential diagnosis, the ASIA classification excludes other disorders. We can differentiate between tetraplegia and paraplegia, and between tetraplegia and tetraparese. We speak of tetraparese is the paralysis is not complete.
How does tetraplegia affect function after cervical sci?
Tetraplegia is associated with several functional limitations based on the level and completeness of injury.9 Additional factors, such as age, comorbid conditions, pain, spasticity, body habitus, and psychosocial and environmental factors, can affect function after cervical SCI.