The spinal cord is the major bundle of nerves carrying nerve impulses to and from the brain to the rest of the body. Rings of bone, called vertebrae, surround the spinal cord. These bones constitute the spinal column or back bones.
Spinal cord injury can be caused by direct trauma to the spinal cord or the result of compression, damage from inflammation, infections, bleeds or clots, neoplasms, or spinal arthritis.
Spinal cord damage results in a loss of function, such as mobility or feeling. In most people who have acute, traumatic spinal cord injury, the spinal cord is not fully severed but is bruised or torn.
Spinal cord injury is not the same as back injury. Even when a person sustains a break in a vertebra or vertebrae, there may not be any spinal cord injury if the spinal cord itself is not affected.
Causes of Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injuries may result from falls, diseases like polio or spina bifida (a disorder involving incomplete development of the brain, spinal cord, and/or their protective coverings), motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, industrial accidents, gunshots and physical assaults, among many other causes. If the spine is weak because of another condition, such as arthritis, minor injuries can cause spinal cord trauma.
Types of Spinal Cord Injury
There are two kinds of spinal cord injury -- complete and incomplete. In a complete injury, a person loses all ability to feel and voluntarily move below the level of the injury. In an incomplete injury, there is some functioning or feeling below the level of the injury.
