Complications after spinal cord injuries and their influence on the effectiveness of rehabilitation

Neringa Drigotaitė, Aleksandras Kriščiūnas

Clinic of Rehabilitation, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania

Key words: spinal cord injury; rehabilitation; complication; statistics.

Summary. In this article, literature data on complications after spinal cord injuries and their influence on the efficiency of rehabilitation are analyzed. The spinal cord injury is associated with physical and psychological disorder that causes disability and requires intensive treatment. Authors in their articles indicate that many people after spinal cord injuries have complications. The most common complications are: skin breakdown, urinary tract infection, pulmonary complications, spasticity, pain, autonomic dysreflexia, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and fractures, heterotopic ossification, deep vein thrombosis. These complications make patients’ rehabilitation more difficult and limit their self-care independence, and the treatment of such complications is very expensive.

Correspondence to N. Drigotaitė, Clinic of Rehabilitation, Kaunas University of Medicine, Eivenių 2, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: neringa.drigotaite@delfi.lt

Received 11 May 2006, accepted 11 August 2006