After a fall from a motorcycle or a collision while in a car, you may notice odd signs of pain throughout your neck and back. Although it may not appear life-changing at first, this pain can be a warning that you have a spinal cord injury.
As you learn more about this kind of injury and what it feels like, you can better understand how severe it is.
Odd sensations and numbness
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, you may struggle with changes in how you sense temperature and fluctuations in your body temperature. As you move or try to pick up items, you could also notice that you have a sense of numbness in your feet and hands.
Trouble with bladder and bowel control
When using the bathroom, you could find that you do not urinate or defecate as freely as before. You could fail to sense when you need to relieve yourself and may need to eventually use a catheter in some situations.
Problems with movement
When twisting from side to side or trying to do things like operate your car, you may notice that your ability to move around is far worse and more limited than before the accident. As time goes on, you could even notice that your breathing feels labored and rough.
Spinal cord trauma may not appear obvious at first but instead, grow and become more intense in the weeks afterward. Learning about the early signs can be helpful immediately after an accident.