Mike,

It's a relief to know that you're OK. Have a good time on your vacation and take it easy. Then, when you get home, enjoy one of the few types of shopping men actually enjoy......truck/automobile/motorcycle shopping.

 

It's not a medical term but basically what it illustrates is that someone can have a spinal injury that can become worse with movement. This is exactly why you are taught not to move someone until you've stabilized their spine if you suspect a spinal injury. There have been documented cases (I know, site your sources, blah blah) where people have had MAJOR spinal injuries such as cracks in vertebra and under the stress and pressures of even walking over 1 or more days caused the affected vertebra to finally give way and pinch/sever the spinal cord causing temporary or permanent paralysis long AFTER the initial injury, sometimes several days even weeks later.

FYI "walking paralysis" is not an American Red Cross term or anything they teach, rather an example used by an instructor to illustrate the importance of not moving a victim of a suspected spinal injury until they are stabilized via backboard/c-collar unless the scene becomes unsafe and the risk can further injure yourself or the victim. Example someone falls onto train tracks (who knows what they were doing there lol), they've got a spinal injury and you hear and see a train coming. Obviously life over limb, you're going to move the victim to get them off the train tracks so they don't get run over. It turns out, it's better to have a broken back than to be dead, at least in the eyes of the good samaritan laws in most states.

Sorry to Mike to go off topic, most importantly is that you're doing well. Any updates buddy?

 

I don't mean to hijack Mike's thread, but correcting misconceptions about neurological issues is one of the few ways I can make meaningful contributions to this forum so...

Until a patient is appropriately evaluated, yes, extreme care, and specialized techniques must be utilized to move/extricate patients such as Mike. Assuming he was appropriately evaluated at the hospital (beyond scope of discussion to tell how), then the risk of subsequent spinal cord injury is essentially zero. Yes there can be cryptic injuries, however such injuries will not result in catastrophic failure of the spinal column. They typically will present with new onset pain, that progresses in severity. Occasionally you may see some radiculopathy, but "severing" the spinal cord would be unheard of. Such an event would be possible, though unlikely if the initial evaluation was incomplete.

It is important to understand that the biomechanics of the spine rely on both bone and ligamentous structures, and complete instability would require injury to both elements. Modern imaging is excellent at identifying such patients. Thus if Mike was worked up appropriately and follows doctors advice, he does not need to fear "walking paralysis". I hope this clarifies the situation.