COMMON COMPLICATIONS OF SPINAL CORD INJURY: PNEUMONIA AND PAIN
Pneumonia
In people with spinal cord injury, difficulty coughing (and thus clearing the lungs), prolonged bed rest, and decreased mobility all contribute to an increased risk of developing pneumonia. Several treatments are used for patients who contract pneumonia. A combination of antibiotics and vigorous respiratory therapy is the first choice. The respiratory therapist pounds with both hands on your chest or back while you are tilted at an angle to help drain the affected lobe of the lung. This is called postural drainage. Inhalants are also used to help dilate and clear airway passages.
People with quadriplegia usually need assistance with coughing to prevent or treat pneumonia. In a technique known as quad coughing, the caregiver pushes on your upper abdomen while you cough, and this helps to expel air forcefully from the lungs.
Pain
Most individuals with spinal cord injury have to deal with pain at some point during the recovery process. For most, the pain is transient and is associated with the initial trauma (for example, the pain caused by a vertebral fracture or an associated injury). This pain may persist for weeks, but it generally is responsive to traditional analgesic medications (painkillers) and resolves over time. However, many individuals have chronic pain after spinal cord injury that is disabling and difficult to treat. This dysesthesia, or neurogenic pain, is caused by abnormal processes inside the spinal cord, not by a pain-inducing stimulus outside the body. Neurogenic pain is particularly frustrating because it commonly affects an area of the body that is anesthetic