Spinal cord injuries can cause long-lasting damage to the entire body. With so many of our key physical functions related directly to the spine, the aftermath of a sudden injury to the spine can utterly transform someone’s life.
In the face of something so drastic, however, it’s important to know that there are rehabilitation plans and support services on offer that can make this new chapter of life a little easier to manage. When it comes to returning to daily life after a spinal cord injury, care at home services can be extraordinarily beneficial.
This blog is a guide to spinal cord injuries and care at home, detailing how this kind of service can support people going through such a difficult recovery process. If you’re looking to enquire about care at home support for yourself or a loved one, contact Aspire UK today.
What is a Spinal Cord Injury?
The phrase ‘spinal cord injury’ refers to any damage done to the spinal cord. This may be a result of serious sudden trauma, perhaps from a car accident or sports injury, or from ongoing degeneration from diseases such as cancer. A vast majority of spinal cord injuries will be from the former, where unexpected trauma will have a severe impact on somebody’s mobility and overall ability to function in their day to day lives.
As one of the most important parts of the body, damage to the spine can have a profound impact on a person’s physical functions. Spinal cord injuries can limit control of limbs, sometimes running the risk of partial or complete paralysis below the injury.
Variations of Spinal Injuries
Injuries to the spinal cord can vary significantly. It all depends on the nature of the injury, whether it’s gradual degeneration due to disease or sudden injury from trauma, and the severity and location of the damage.
It isn’t always easy to predict the long-term effects of an injury immediately after it’s taken place, as rehabilitation process can have a significant influence on the level of mobility and function a person is left with after significant damage has taken place.
Here are some of the symptoms that spinal cord injuries can commonly cause:
- Loss of movement
- Limited sensory ability (such as loss of ability to feel heat, cold, or touch)
- Spasms
- Difficulty breathing
- Changes in sexual function
- Weaken bowel or bladder control
- Pain and stinging sensations
Care at Home Services for Spinal Injuries
Care at home services are built to help service users combat how life altering an injury to the spinal cord can be. The limited mobility and ongoing treatment required can take a large toll on somebody’s life, and the services we offer are created to help people gain independence and adjust to their new circumstances.
At Aspire UK, our care workers offer uniquely tailored services to service users with spinal cord injuries. These programs are designed to help people get back on their feet, living and enjoying life throughout the continual rehabilitation an injury like this can demand.
This may look like support throughout the home, helping to complete chores and the daily routines of life with newfound physical limitations, or support in travelling around your local area. Having an experienced care worker around who can help to adjust a service user back into normal life can work wonders for the recovery journey.
Benefits of Care at Home for People with Spinal Cord Injuries
There are two key benefits that are unique to care at home support. Firstly, working with an individual care worker offers a flexibility that can’t be found elsewhere. The treatment and support plan is built entirely around the service user, and with the dynamic and ever-changing nature of spinal cord injury recovery, that adaptability is essential. The care provider is able to adjust their services to grow alongside the service user, ensuring that all care offered is customised to suit wherever they are in the rehabilitation process.
Beyond that, the greatest benefit of care at home is as simple as being at home. After a significant injury, feeling a loss of independence is natural. Life suddenly doesn’t look the way it used to, and many people who’ve gone through an injury like this struggle with the loss of their old lives and habits.
Care at home supports you within the comforting familiarity of your house, helping a service user to adapt their habits and habitat to accommodate their limitations and recovery. Maintaining that level of independence can be a significant confidence boost for many service users.
Contact Aspire UK Today to Get Your Care at Home Questions Answered
If your loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, there’s no doubt that you want to see them get back to living life to the fullest. It’s all too easy for injuries like these and their difficult recovery processes to hold people back from enjoying their old lives and routines, but care at home could be a solution.
To learn more about the unique support services available through an at-home care worker, contact Aspire UK today to chat with a friendly team member.
