Question
I have a friend who broke her neck and bruised her spinal column
about a year ago, after getting off a respirator and recovering the
movement of toes, fingers, legs to the extent she can pedal a
reticulated bike- she has pretty constant chest pain, like her chest
cavity is wrapped like a mummy she says and now has pins and
needles sensation thoughout her legs to the extent she can't sleep,
are these signs of nerves waking, and recovery or phantom pains to
be dealt with?  

Answer
Hi Stephanie,

Thanks so much for your question.

The tightness in her chest could be muscle spasms. She needs to talk to her doctor just to make sure that the pain she is feeling is not something more serious.

As far as the tingling sensation, that is difficult to say. It could be phantom pain or the nerves are regenerating. When the initial injury happened, bruising occurred and blood gathered at the point of trauma. This pooling of blood can cause scarring of the spinal cord. This scarring can interrupt the message transmission between the brain and the rest of the body. Also, the nerves probably were damaged and need to regenerate. Depending on how much scar tissue developed and nerve damage, some spinal cord injuries regain motor and sensory skills soon after and some take up to a year or more.

I can not say for certain what is happening to your friend. She would need to talk to her doctor or a physical/occupational therapist. They would be in a better position to answer that question.

I hope this helps and if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask me anytime.

Thanks again,
John McKinzie