Cervical-medullar syndrome and whiplash personal injuries

Cervical medullar syndrome is a more serious cervical neurological disorder resulting from a whiplash personal injury after a car accident.

This is because the condition involves a lesion on the spinal cord, the seat of the body's nervous system. A lesion is a damaged or abnormal tissue and can be cancerous or benign.

If the spinal cord is affected after whiplash, over time this could result in temporary tetraparesis (weakness of all four limbs) or tetraplegia (paralysis of all four limbs or the entire body below the neck).

Can you tell me more about tetraparesis and tetraplegia?
This condition is a weakness (tetraparesis) of all four limbs or paralysis (tetraplegia) and can be caused by an upper motor neuron lesion in the brain or upper cervical cord (part of the spinal cord at the highest level near the neck).

This personal injury causes the sufferer to lose total or partial control of their arms and legs and in the past has been more commonly known as 'quadriplegia'. There are a variety of reasons for the condition aside from a whiplash personal injury.

If tetraparesis goes undetected for a significant period of time, there can be extremely serious consequences. One in twenty cervical fractures are not spotted during initial medical examinations and two-thirds of patients go on to experience further spinal cord damage. Just under half of cervical spinal injuries are diagnosed too late and result in permanent neurological damage.

Actor Christopher Reeve, injured in a horse-riding accident, suffered from tetraplegia. He had rehabilitation and physical therapy to assist in his recovery, along with rewiring neural connections to enable slight movement.

Can tetraplegia sufferers maintain a normal life?
Spinal injuries that occur above the cervical vertebrae C4 can mean that a ventilator is required to help the sufferer to breathe. This was the case with Christopher Reeve, who used a ventilator via a hole in his throat. This is because the diaphragm is controlled by nerves in the spine in the upper neck area.

Tetraplegia sufferers will have different physical restrictions after a whiplash injury depending on which part of the spinal column is damaged.

For the C1-C4 area, sufferers may be able to shrug their shoulders and have some neck motion and so can use mobility and communications equipment like wheelchairs and computers.

If the injury is in C5 after a whiplash injury, the deltoids and biceps can be affected. Sufferers may need help washing and dressing and for participation in lifestyle and sports activities. Automatic rather than manual wheelchairs can assist with powering difficulties.

For C6, shoulder motion and elbow bending (but not straightening) is possible but wrist extension may be affected, which in turn will have implications for workplace skills. If C7-8 is affected, the elbows can be bent and straightened, finger and wrist extension is possible, allowing good grip. Most daily activities are possible, including driving.

Making a whiplash personal injury compensation claim
Whiplash is probably the most common type of personal injury sustained in a road traffic accident. Symptoms can be extremely painful and lead to permanent disabilities if left untreated.

Many people avoid making a compensation claim because they think there will be expensive and hidden charges involved, that accident claims are complex and time-consuming and that you may have to go to court to get compensation.

With YouClaim, we operate on a no win no fee basis. We don't charge you a single penny at any time and, if your case is successful, 100 % of the damages will go to you.

You'll get immediate access to some of the country's leading personal injury solicitors and we can offer totally free legal advice. Every year we help hundreds of people who have suffered whiplash injuries in car accidents and we also have access to the top medical experts in the UK to make sure that our customers receive the best possible treatment for their personal injury.

Call us now on 0808 143 43 42 or use the online call back form to get immediate live contact with a member of our team about making a completely cost-free whiplash claim.