Small accidents in daily life can cause major trauma at any time.
A security guard "wrong foot" while patrolling the building, fell to the front from the height of two or three flights of stairs. He lost his hand function due to his neck back injury and spinal nerve injury. He couldn't even wear buttons.
Many elderly people have cervical spine degeneration. When they fall, their necks are bent back, which increases the risk of spinal nerve injury, which can cause permanent disability in severe cases.
Citizens should be careful when walking on the road or walking up the stairs on weekdays, such as not playing with their mobile phones while walking.
Written by: Lin Chuxian, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, The University of Hong Kong
When the 68-year-old male security guard was patrolling the building and descending the stairs, he accidentally "wrong foot" and leaped forward from the height of two or three stairs.
He has already degenerated his cervical spine, causing herniated discs, bone spurs, and ligament hyperplasia. The middle spinal nerves of the cervical spine are narrower than normal, forming cervical spinal canal stenosis.
When he fell and buckled his neck back, the place where the spinal nerve passed through was further narrowed, thus crushing the nerve.
The location of the crush is the central part of the spinal nerve.
Injury to the spinal cord nerves affect the function of the hand, unable to pick up the chopsticks
Since the central part of the spinal nerve mainly controls hand movements, the accident caused the security guard's hand movement ability to be severely impaired. He has difficulties in daily life, such as being unable to pick up chopsticks, groom, button buttons on clothes, open the door, and take a bath.
Although the muscle strength of the lower extremities is good, the proprioception function is also impaired, and the position of the feet cannot be accurately grasped.
Standing and walking should be supported by a walking frame or other people's hands. The balance is poor and it is easy to fall. Neuralgia and muscle cramps also occur.
The security guard used to live alone and had to take care of his daily life after the trauma.
Sometimes when we slip and fall, our body will fall back, and our neck may swing back. If the cervical spine degenerates severely, it will also increase the risk of spinal nerve injury.
Patients over the age of 60 have a lower chance of recovery. Some people have permanent trauma, and some will get better, but most of the injured cannot fully recover.
Hand and foot numbness operation "discussion" should seek medical treatment
Many elders have cervical spine degeneration. Be careful in daily life. Avoid playing mobile phones while walking on the road. Pay attention to whether the ground is slippery or uneven when traveling. Also pay attention to home safety, try to avoid climbing up and down, and keep the place tidy and well lit. Enough to avoid falling.
If the public has signs of cervical spine degeneration caused by compression of the spinal nerves, such as numbness of hands and feet or lack of flexibility, and feel "exhausted" by writing chopsticks and walking, they should consult an orthopedic doctor as soon as possible.
The doctor will evaluate the patient's clinical symptoms in detail, perform MRI when necessary, and consider surgery to decompress the nerves to reduce the risk of deterioration of nerve function and damage to the spinal cord in the event of a fall.
Physical therapists or occupational therapists can also provide fall prevention training to assess the risk of falls.
Fatigue increases after taking cough fluid, loss of balance, risk of falling
Many elderly people are taking more and more medicines due to chronic illnesses, and there may be interactions between the medicines. Some elderly people have a little cough and just take cough water casually. The ingredients in the cough water can also make you tired easily and lose your balance. Easy to fall.
Follow the doctor's instructions for daily medication to reduce the risk of being affected by the medication.
The elderly should pay attention to home safety and keep the place tidy, which helps prevent falls and injuries.
(Profile picture)
The Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of the University of Hong Kong is currently conducting a survey on the priorities of patients and carers of spinal cord injury, their expectations for functional recovery, and the opinions of existing community rehabilitation services. The opinions of the author have a better understanding.
The survey is conducted from September 1 to December 31 this year. Spinal cord injury patients and carers can use the following link or scan the QR code to participate in the survey: https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3aaGv6mpzpzL1C6
"01 Medical Clinic" cooperates with the charity [Medical and Good Career] to publish medical articles written by medical staff every Sunday.
Medical Career was established in 2019. It is hoped to gather the love and strength of the society, encourage people to actively participate in the volunteer program organized by Medical Career, and show their strengths to help disadvantaged communities.
The Medical Career Association is dedicated to enhancing the confidence of sponsors and sponsoring organizations by operating as a professional team, so as to achieve the goal of benefiting from the society and using it for the society.
The website will also provide the citizens with correct medical information; it will also identify irregular medical and health seminars and free consultations. At the same time, it will actively cooperate with other community organizations and medical institutions to provide citizens with various medical service discounts.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s playground environment is polluted. Forty percent of the children in the subdistrict households stay at home, "play with mobile phones", "low heads" and less exercise. Cervical spondylosis is on the rise. Orthopedics: The youngest patient is only 16 years old. 44 Accompanying Lei Xiongde: Or cause cervical pain
01News
