Spinal cord injury occurs when the spinal cord is injured or damaged, resulting in loss of function (sensation or motion). The cord is vulnerable to trauma, such as that which occurs from a fall, a motor automobile accident or a gunshot wound. Spinal cord injuries might also accompany particular illnesses, such as spina bifida or polio.
The cord does not necessarily require to be severed in order for loss of function to occur. Most people who suffer spinal cord injuries and survive have an intact spinal cord, but the harm caused results in considerable impairment.
In order to understand injury, it is valuable to understand the structure of the cord and surrounding structures:
The cord- About 45 centimeters (18 inches) extended, the cord travels from the base of the neck to the level of the waist. Nerves encased in the cord carry messages to and from the brain to the spinal nerves which lay in the cord tract. Spinal nerves branch out from the spinal cord and carry impulses back and forth from other regions of the brain. Spinal nerves enter and exit the cord at varied levels, which correspond to varied regions of the body. Sensory neurons carry messages from the skin and other organs to the brain relating to sensation, such as pressure and pain. Motor neurons carry messages from the brain to the body to initiate motion. The spinal cord is composed of the nerves that carry impulses from the brain to the rest of the body, subsequently an injury or disease that impacts the spinal cord will also affect the bodys potential to move or encounter particular sensations.
The vertebrae- The cord is surrounded by a column of bones that guard the spinal cord. This column of bones tends to make up your spinal column, or spine. As a general rule, the larger up the spine an injury occurs, the greater the loss of function. Bones in the spinal column are named according to the region in which they lay. There are eight vertebrae in the neck (cervical vertebrae, C1 to C8), twelve vertebrae in the chest region (thoracic vertebrae, T1 to T12), five vertebrae in the lower back (lumbar vertebrae, L1 to L5) and five vertebrae in the pelvic region (sacral vertebrae, S1 to S5).
Incomplete versus Full Spinal Cord Injury
Cord injuries might be classed as either incomplete or complete. In complete cord injury, there is complete loss of function below the level of the injury. Both sides of the body are affected equally. In incomplete cord injury, some function is preserved below the level of the injury. With an incomplete injury, 1 side might be affected far more than the other there might be some sensation and some mobility. As stated previously, the larger the level of injury, the greater the loss of function and sensation. For instance, injuries occurring high up in the spinal cord might impede the victims potential to breathe, when injuries occurring lower in the spinal cord might lead to loss of walking potential but preserve breathing function.
Quadriplegia versus Paraplegia
Quadriplegia is a term utilized to describe loss of function from the shoulders down, when paraplegia refers to loss of function from the waist down. Loss of function can involve bowel and bladder control, as properly as loss of sexual function.
Cord injury is a devastating injury that significantly impacts the survivors life, as properly as that of their loved ones. With new engineering and therapy, far more people are surviving cord injuries and living productive lives. The extent of injury is significantly dependent on no matter if the cord injury is complete or incomplete and at what level the cord injury occurs.
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