Your back is a complicated structure of bone, muscle, tendons and ligaments. Your spinal cord is a fragile bundle of nerves that runs through the spinal canal from the base of your brain. While protected by the spine, back injuries can easily threaten the spinal cord.
How you heal following a back injury depends on the location and severity of the injury.
Rest to prevent further injury
After a sudden, forceful blow to your body, your joints become forced out of position. As your ligaments stretch beyond their normal range of movement, it can result in a back sprain. To treat a back sprain, you must rest for the first 24 to 48 hours to reduce the risk of exacerbating the injury. Ice packs, pressure and medication help to reduce the swelling.
Unfortunately, inactivity from a back sprain can also result in muscle strength and bone density loss. Imaging tests can help doctors determine the severity of your back injury and the course of action that could restore your ability to move without pain.
Watch for signs of a more serious injury
Sometimes, people assume they have a back strain or sprain following an accident and opt out of medical attention. Cramping, muscle spasms, decreased function and pain are all symptoms of strains, sprains and can also indicate a spinal cord injury.
Spinal cord injuries do not always manifest symptoms right away. However, if you have severe pain and an inability to walk more than a few steps, feel weakness in your hands and feet, have numbness around the injury or in your legs, you could have a more dangerous spinal cord injury.
Spinal cord injuries require medical intervention as soon as possible to prevent them from worsening.
