What does neurological level mean?

Neurological level of injury (NLI): The NLI refers to the most caudal segment of the cord with intact sensation and antigravity muscle function strength, provided that there is normal (intact) sensory and motor function rostrally.

What does a sensory level mean?

Sensory level is defined as the lowest spinal cord level that still has normal pinprick and touch sensation. If there is a spinal cord level below which there is no voluntary motor or conscious sensory function, the person is called a “complete” spinal cord injury.

Which scale is most commonly used to classify the severity of spinal cord injury?

3.1 Injury severity and phase of injury The American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) is widely used to classify the severity of injury in SCI individuals, with motor complete (AIS grade A and grade B), motor incomplete (AIS grade C and grade D), or normal (AIS grade E) (Kirshblum et al., 2011).

How are Dermatomes graded?

Each sensory dermatome is given a score of 0, 1 or 2. A light touch sensory score of 0 means absent sensation in that dermatome. A score of 1 is given for altered sensation when compared with the face, which serves as the reference point. A score of 2 is given if the sensation is normal, or the same as the face.

What is functional neurological symptom disorder?

Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a medical condition in which there is a problem with the functioning of the nervous system and how the brain and body sends and/or receives signals, rather than a structural disease process such as multiple sclerosis or stroke.

What are the spinal levels?

There are four sections of the spinal cord that impact the level of spinal cord injury: cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral. Each section of the spine protects different groups of nerves that control the body.

What does a C7 spinal cord injury mean?

Individuals with a complete C7 spinal cord injury will not be able to move or feel their trunk or lower body, and will also have some impairments in their hands/fingers. This will affect: Bladder and bowel movements. The inability to control these reflexes and muscle contractions can make you very prone to accidents.

How do you check Dermatome levels?

It is possible to assess dermatome levels on infants and non-verbal patients by carefully observing flinching and facial expression in response to ice on presumed blocked and unblocked dermatomes.