Difference Between Paraplegia and Quadriplegia

Paraplegia refers to the loss of movement and sensation in both legs and, sometimes, part of the lower abdomen. Quadriplegia affects all four limbs and, sometimes, parts of the chest, abdomen, and back. Both are forms of paralysis that often result from injury to the spinal cord.

1. What is the difference between paraplegia and paraparesis?
2. Can a quadriplegic move their arms?
3. What is a paraplegic person?
4. What's the difference between tetraplegic and quadriplegic?
5. Can a paraplegic walk again?
6. Why do paraplegics die early?
7. What is the life expectancy of a quadriplegic?
8. Can a quadriplegic man have a baby?
9. Can a quadriplegic talk?
10. Can paraplegics feel pain in their legs?
11. How does a paraplegic poop?
12. What causes someone to be a paraplegic?

What is the difference between paraplegia and paraparesis?

Paraparesis occurs when you're partially unable to move your legs. The condition can also refer to weakness in your hips and legs. Paraparesis is different from paraplegia, which refers to a complete inability to move your legs.

Can a quadriplegic move their arms?

Quadriplegia is the most severe form of paralysis. A quadriplegic would not be able to move the arms or legs. The torso, including breathing muscles, maybe paralyzed as well.

What is a paraplegic person?

Paraplegia is a form of paralysis that mostly affects the movement of the lower body. People with paraplegia may be unable to voluntarily move their legs, feet, and sometimes their abdomen. Some people experience incomplete paraplegia. This is the case when the paralysis only affects one leg.

What's the difference between tetraplegic and quadriplegic?

Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, refers to paralysis in the upper and lower body. This means that it affects both arms and both legs. This type of paralysis is typically due to damage to the spinal cord or brain. Tetraplegia is one of the most severe forms of paralysis.

Can a paraplegic walk again?

Researchers used a device to electrically stimulate patients' spines, allowing them to learn to walk again. (Credit: Mayo Clinic) Three paraplegic patients can walk again thanks to an intense rehabilitation program with a device that sends electricity down the spine, researchers report Monday in two separate studies.

Why do paraplegics die early?

Renal failure was the major cause of death in three-quarters of the 84 chronic paraplegics who died from causes related to their paraplegia. ... Although the pattern of disease in paraplegics is changing, urinary infection with all its sequelae remains the major underlying cause of mortality in chronic paraplegia.

What is the life expectancy of a quadriplegic?

Life expectancy after injury ranges from 1.5 years for a ventilator-dependent patient older than 60 to 52.6 years for a 20-year-old patient with preserved motor function. Fatal complications of spinal cord injury include blood clots and sepsis due to pneumonia, urinary infections or pressure sores.

Can a quadriplegic man have a baby?

Fertility is the third biggest issue: Men with paralysis usually experience a change in their ability to biologically father a child, due to the inability to ejaculate. Some men experience retrograde ejaculation in which semen travels in reverse, back into the bladder.

Can a quadriplegic talk?

Quadriplegia affects the body from the neck down, which can significantly reduce a person's independence. Depending on the extent of the paralysis, a person with quadriplegia may experience: limited or complete absence of arm and hand function. problems speaking, swallowing, or breathing without assistance.

Can paraplegics feel pain in their legs?

Paraplegics suffer from no longer feeling their legs again, but the condition is often accompanied by neuropathic pain due to the spinal cord lesion. The patient feels pain originating from the legs, even though nothing else can be felt below the lesion.

How does a paraplegic poop?

If the spinal cord injury is above the T-12 level, the ability to feel when the rectum is full may be lost. The anal sphincter muscle remains tight, however, and bowel movements will occur on a reflex basis. This means that when the rectum is full, the defecation reflex will occur, emptying the bowel.

What causes someone to be a paraplegic?

Paraplegia happens when there is damage below the neck. The most common cause is trauma, such as from a sports injury or car accident. Other causes are: Stroke.