Spinal Cord Injuries

A Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is trauma or damage to the spinal cord that results in impaired or loss of function that causes reduced feeling or mobility. The two main causes of damage are trauma or disease. Contrary to popular belief, the spinal cord does not have to be completely severed in order to loose feeling or mobility. In the majority of cases, the spinal cord is intact, but the cellular damage is enough to cause impairment. Similarly, it is also possible for a person to break their neck or back and not sustain a spinal cord injury – this is where the bones ( the vertebrae) around the spinal cord are damaged but the cord itself is not. What are the effects of a spinal cord injury? The effects of a spinal cord injury will depend on the level and type of injury.  Generally speaking, SCI’s can be divided into two types of injury, incomplete and complete. An incomplete injury means that there is some function below the primary level of the injury. A person with an incomplete injury will be able to move one limb more than the other, they may also be able to feel parts of their body that can’t be moved, or may have more function on one side of the body than the other. A complete injury means that there is no function below the level of injury. This means there is no sensation and no voluntary movement on both sides of the body. The level and location of injury is very helpful in predicting what parts of the body will be effected by loss of function and paralysis. Paralysis resulting from an SCI has other effects on the body other than loss of function and sensation. People who have had an SCI may also experience other neurological changes. For example, some people may experience dysfunction of the bladder and bowel. It is also reported that sexual function can be affected, especially in men. High spinal injuries can also result in a loss of many involuntary bodily functions such as the ability to breath. In cases like this, breathing apparatus such as medical ventilators may be needed to regulate a person’s breathing pattern. Other effects of a spinal cord injury include low blood pressure, the inability to regulate blood pressure, the inability to sweat below the level of injury and reduced control of the body’s temperature.