An accident at work or in public may not leave you in massive amounts of pain at first. You may even stand up and walk around immediately afterward.
However, once the adrenaline wears off, you could begin to notice some signs of a spinal cord injury.
Bowel issues
According to the Mayo Clinic, you may struggle to successfully urinate after the accident. You could notice a difference in sensation when you do so, and it may hurt or feel numb.
Failing to completely empty your bladder can lead to many long-term health issues, such as bladder stones and kidney infections. You may not even be able to notice if you need to urinate, which can contribute to other problems.
Breathing trouble
Spinal cord trauma can affect your respiratory system, which can lead to trouble with breathing and sharp twinges of pain in your chest. Not only can this limit how much you can exercise or walk around, but you may also have a higher chance of getting pneumonia. Odd secretions in your lungs can also increase your discomfort.
In some cases, you may not even notice any trouble with breathing at first directly after an accident. As time goes on, these symptoms could become more severe and interfere with your daily life.
Heat sensitivity changes
Feeling whether a surface is hot or cold can help you avoid serious injuries, and spinal trauma can impair whether or not you can feel the temperature of surfaces. Not being able to tell whether you are touching a hot surface can lead to severe burns on your hands or other areas.
Learning about the signs of spinal cord trauma can help you avoid getting further injuries.