Seat belts protect spine in accidents

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">MUMBAI: Former Chattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi fortunate, believe the doctors attending on him. Just four days after he sustained serious spinal injuries in a road accident near Raipur, he was able to tour the ICU unit Bombay Hospital — albeit in a wheelchair. In contrast, Hollywood ''Superman'' Christopher Reeve injured his spine to such an extent during a from a horse, that a decade later he can not even breathe without external aid.<br /><br />The spectrum of spinal injuries can range from painful whiplash to permanent disability."A whiplash would literally mean a pain in the neck, but all’s fine after a while. Severe damage to the spinal cord, on other hand, could result in patient being paralysed waist down," says neuro and spinal surgeon Anant Kamat from Wockhardt Brain and Spine Hospital in Mulund.<br /><br />Even in Jogi’s case, his doctors claim it is too early to ascertain whether he will ever be able to walk again.<br /><br />Spinal injuries occur during road accidents, falls from heights or when something heavy falls on one’s head, says spinal surgeon Samir Dalvie, who along with neurosurgeon C.E. Devpujari operated on Jogi at Bombay Hospital on Sunday.<br /><br />"Spinal injuries form a fraction of the total injuries sustained during road accidents while head and abdomen injuries are most common," says Delhi Indian Institute of Technology’s Prof Dinesh Mohan, who co-authored the World Health Organisation report on road accidents that was released on the occasion of World Health Day on April 7.<br /><br /><formid=526372></formid=526372></div> </div>