Any damage to the spinal cord which causes the loss of body feeling or mobility, or any such function, is referred to as a spinal cord injury (SCI), Some causes of spinal cord injury which lead to loss of function are-

-          Trauma to the back resulting from a severe fall. A wound or injuries from a motor vehicle collision.

-          Spinal cord injury may result from disease like spina bifida, infantile paralyses, or Friedreichs Ataxia which is an inherited disease which affects the nervous system.

Spinal cord injury is totally different from back injuries such as herniated disc or pinched nerves. For SCI the cord does not have to be completely broken for a person to suffer loss of functionality, in fact, with most people, the spine is still intact.

What is the Spinal Cord?

The spine extends from the base of the brain to about the waist, and is 18 inches in length, the spinal cord comprises the major nerve bundles which both send nerve impulses to and from the brain, and transmits information to the rest of the body via two systems, the central and peripheral nervous systems.

The spinal cord itself is surrounded by vertebrae which make up the backbone (spinal column), and with SCI, it seems that the higher the location on the spinal cord the injury occurs, the higher the degree of dysfunction which will be experienced by the person.

The Effects of SCI.

These depend upon both the type and intensity of injury sustained and are usually classified as two types of injury . . . . Complete and Incomplete.

Complete Injury.

-          There is no function or feeling below the level of the injury.

-          There is no sensation, and voluntary movement is not possible.

-          Complete injury affects both sides of the body equally.

Incomplete Injury.

-          There is some degree of movement and feeling below the level of the injury.

-          The ability to move one limb more than the other may be present.

-          There also may be more functioning on one side of the body, than the other side.

In cases of SCI, knowledge of the intensity of the injury is important for doctors to predict just which parts of the patients body will suffer from dysfunction or paralyses, and there often can be difficulty associated with this kind of diagnosis in cases of incomplete injury.

At this time there is no positive cure for SCI, but steroid drugs like Methylprednisolone can help in reducing secondary spinal damage and the drug SygenAE  assists in reducing dysfunctionality, but this drug is still at the experimental stage.

Unfortunately only a very small proportion of sufferers of SCI are able to have all functions successfully restored.

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