The term “MS injury” could mean several different things. It could refer to the brain injury and spinal cord injury suffered by patients as the disease progresses. It could also refer to the injuries suffered by MS patients when the symptoms of their disease put them in harm’s way. Additionally, it could refer to trauma or injuries that have the potential to trigger the development of multiple sclerosis.
The first type of MS injury described above refers to the lesions that develop in nervous tissue when it is subjected to the processes of demyelination and inflammation. This, in a nutshell is what multiple sclerosis is all about. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are all associated with this injury suffered by the nervous tissue, primarily in the Central Nervous System and, to a smaller extent, in the Peripheral Nervous System. It is most ideal for MS to be diagnosed early because, if it is, patients can be put on medications to slow down the demyelination, thus minimizing the damage done to the nervous tissue. Once the tissue damage is extensive, MS becomes harder to control, but it is still possible to improve patients’ quality of life by treating their symptoms and using various forms of complementary medicine.
Creative Interpretations of “MS Injury”
The second form of MS injury, alluded to in the first paragraph, refers to all those forms of injury that MS patients experience because of the limitations that the condition has placed upon them. For example, patients experiencing weakness in the extremities may lose balance. As a consequence, they may fall to the ground and injure themselves. Other patients may injure themselves if they try to use machinery or drive while suffering from visual impairment brought on by their MS. Yet other patients may get themselves into dangerous situations by virtue of the cognitive limitations brought upon them by MS. They may forget to concentrate on an important task or may make erroneous estimations or calculations as a consequence of these limitations.
The third understanding of the term “MS injury,” indicated in the first paragraph, includes all those incidents suffered by individuals which subsequently result in their developing multiple sclerosis. Because MS can be triggered by a variety of factors, MS injuries of this form are wide-ranging. They may include environmental factors such as the lack of adequate vitamin D or exposure to the Epstein-Barr virus. They may also include the prior development of other forms of inflammatory disease, including inflammatory bowel disease and lupus.
