The spinal cord and the brain are part of the central nervous system and the cells of the brain and spinal cord are soft therefore making them able to be injured easily. Once these cells become damaged, they can not be reproduced. Being that the brain is the main control center of the body it is one of the most important organs. Of course all of our organs are important but there are some that can be repaired or replaced, but the brain is not one of these types of organs. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem. The brain stem is the part of the central nervous system that controls everything that is imperative to life and due to this, the brain stem is the most protected part of the central nervous system.
The spinal cord can be injured in many different circumstances. Some of these are motor vehicle accidents, falls, trauma whether it is blunt force or penetrating, diving accidents, and hangings. Whenever the spine is stretched or pulled along its length the probability of injury is almost a certainty. Whenever an injury occurs and trauma is suspected it is critical that great care is implemented on the patient in order to not move the patient in a way to cause further damage to the spine.
If the mechanism of injury is not known, then trauma of the head and or spine should be suspected and for safe measure it is important to prohibit the patients movement and rapidly transport them to the hospital or other receiving facility. The mechanism of injury will in most cases give you a clue about they types of injury and your transport decision. This of course goes along with your patient assessment.
Of course when responding to an emergency and you suspect spinal injury you should take the proper precautions. However other life threatening events do take precedence. If the patient is not breathing you can assume that death will be almost immanent. If you have to move the patient to access the airway or other life threatening wounds, you should do so cautiously and while maintaining spinal immobilization if possible. For example if you have to open the airway, you should use the jaw-thrust maneuver as opposed to the head tilt chin lift maneuver. This way the head and spine are not compromised.
If you are first to arrive at the scene, whether you are non medical personnel, a first responder, or an emergency medical technician, knowing how to manage a patient the proper way will save lives and prevent further injury in most cases. Pre-hospital care is all about delivering a viable patient to the receiving facility where they are going to receive definitive care.
