According to a new research study, patients who suffer from mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) may be more prone to having long-term deficits that impede daily life activities, as compared to other types of medical issues. Research has shown for years that moderate and severe brain injuries have lasting effects, but the effects of mild TBIs on long-term functioning have been less researched.
College Athletes and TBI
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can result from many things, including car accidents, sports injuries, and some types of repeated trauma. TBIs have been making the news recently due to many student athletes suing the NCAA and their respective colleges/universities. According to news sources, the NCAA has received over 300 legal claims from former college athletes, mostly football players. These athletes state that concussions they received while playing sports were not always handled correctly in college. As a result, they now have lasting effects including mental health issues, early onset Parkinsons, Alzheimer's Disease, and chronic headaches. This is not the first time that the NCAA has been sued to head injury concerns. One former class action lawsuit against the NCAA led to $75M for students who claimed they had injuries. Another stipulation within that lawsuit was an agreement that any potential class-action personal injury lawsuits couldn't be held against the NCAA, but students could pursue their own lawsuits at their individual schools.
New Drug May Help TBI Patients
Sufferers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) may soon be getting more relief. According to the published results of recent scientific research, a drug that is used to treat both dementia and Alzheimer's disease may also be useful for TBI patients as well. The drug, called memantine, is reported to help their recovery process, as measured through the Glasgow Coma Scale and neuronal damage markers in the blood. This may really help patients who have recently had a traumatic injury to their head which has resulted in significant neurological damage.
Spinal Cord Injuries--Statistics and Causes
Spinal cord, brain, and other serious injuries are frightening, life changing, and complicated to live with and treat. A recent press release by the Shriners Hospital for Children offered up a few surprising and eye-opening statistics related to the prevalence and common causes of spinal cord injuries. Their list included the following statistics:
Take Care With Spinal Cord Injuries
If you've ever been in an accident, such as a car or bicycle accident, you know how painful and persistent those injuries can be. However, if you also happened to have injured your spine, the lasting damages can be even more severe. What are some of the expenses that occur after you've injured your spine? Take a look below.
One Father's Journey With Spinal Stenosis
If you've been following our blog for the past few weeks, you may have noticed that we're taking a closer look at spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis is a serious and painful medical condition that causes significant back pain. Not only does it make it hard to do everyday tasks like lift groceries, drive a car, and sit or stand for prolonged periods of time, it may also make your work and recreational activities difficult, if not impossible, to enjoy. We don't think anyone should have to suffer from this type of injury, especially when it was caused due to the fault of another person, such as being involved in a car accident.
New App Can Monitor Gait of Spinal Stenosis Patients
We here at Stoehr Law take spinal stenosis pain very seriously. As such, we try our best to keep our knowledge of spinal stenosis research and treatment as current as possible. Recently, we discovered that there is a new medical app available for smart phones that can track the gait of spinal stenosis sufferers. Gait, the way in which an individual walks, can sometimes be a sign of a serious medical condition. In spinal stenosis patients, your gait can change due to pain in your legs and back and weakness in certain muscle groups. Most often, this compensatory walk is due to pain in the back due to arthritis or injury from something such as a car or motorcycle accident. This gait is often maladaptive and can cause additional medical problems down the road.
To read more about the new app and its corresponding scientific study, you are welcome to view an article from a Biotech website in Asia, where the research originated. Overall, the study determined that this new app is a "more convenient and affordable method for long-term monitoring in an outpatient setting", meaning fewer medical visits and (hopefully) lower bills for many chronic patients.
If you suspect that you have spinal stenosis and were recently injured, like in a car accident or something like a slip-and-fall, you should consider consulting with an attorney. Not only may your injury worsen over time, you may also be facing situations like time off of work, limited mobility, and potentially permanent pain. If you don't consult with an attorney and see what your options are, you may be missing out on some choices that may considerably help you and your family in the future. If you're located in the central PA area, such as Altoona, Tyrone, Martinsburg, Bedford, and other surrounding areas, Attorney Stoehr is an expert attorney who is skilled in handling these types of cases. Give him a call at 814-946-4100 to schedule a meeting and discuss your potential legal claim!
The Nitty Gritty of Spinal Stenosis
In case you weren't tuned in to our blog earlier this week, our law firm has been focusing on the medical condition called spinal stenosis, how it develops, and what your legal and medical options may be. First of all, as a recap, spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal, which causes nerve pain that is often in the lower back. It is much more common than you may think, and affects over 10% of our American population every year. Some medical experts are even projecting that spinal stenosis may be diagnosed in almost 2.5 million people by 2021!
As stated previously, spinal stenosis can be caused by a variety of things--aging, chronic use of a certain body motion (such as in professional athletes), and through accident or injury. At our law firm, we handle cases for people who have spinal stenosis as a result of things like car, truck, motorcycle, and bike accidents as well as chronic back pain caused by situations such as slip-and-fall accidents. Things like slipping and falling on an untreated, icy sidewalk, or through injuring your back and neck in a motor vehicle accident can lead to some serious and long-lasting spinal stenosis pain. The pain may be bad enough to keep you from working, exercising, or even walking.
Some people use the diagnostic tool of the "toothbrush test" as highlighted in our blog post earlier this week, and others state that if you feel nerve pain in your legs when you walk, you very may well have some degree of spinal stenosis. This type of pain may lessen when you're sitting down, but the average person can't sit for 24 hours a day, making mobility and quality of life a huge issue. The pain will NOT go away on its own, so it is imperative that you see a doctor if you start to develop these spinal stenosis symptoms.
If you think you're developing spinal stenosis and were recently injured, such as through a car accident or something like a slip-and-fall, you should consider consulting with an attorney. Not only may your injury worsen over time, you may also be facing situations like time off of work, limited mobility, and potentially permanent pain. If you don't consult with an attorney and see what your options are, you may be missing out on some choices that may considerably help you and your family in the future. If you're located in the central PA area, such as Altoona, Tyrone, Martinsburg, Bedford, and other surrounding areas, Attorney Stoehr is an expert attorney who is skilled in handling these types of cases. Give him a call at 814-946-4100 to schedule a meeting and discuss your potential legal claim!
The "Toothbrush Sign" And Pinpointing Spinal Stenosis
You may have been reading the sports section of your local paper recently and noticed that several athletes have been out of commission due to something called spinal stenosis. Your doctor may have also brought up the diagnosis to you if you've recently complained of lower back pain. So, what is spinal stenosis, anyway?
