Spinal Cord Treatments Make Progress

One of the most well-known images representing <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.avera.com/practice_severe_spinal.html>spinal cord injuries</a> is Christopher Reeve, the actor who portrayed the “man of steel” in the Superman films. Photographs of Reeve in a wheelchair swept the media after his near-fatal riding accident in 1995.
Even Time journal printed an article, “Will Christopher Reeve Walk Again?” detailing how Reeve had no movement below his neck and needed a ventilator to breathe but still held on to the chance that his condition would not be permanent.

Though Reeve passed away in 2004, his optimism was not in vain. Over the past 20 years, much of the puzzle surrounding the spinal cord has been put together. The query is no longer what treatments work best for an injured backbone but how best to execute them.

But what ought to others with spinal cord injuries do until that last query is answered? And who helps the victims of accidents based on negligence that never ought to have occurred in the first place?

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