| | What is the spinal column? |
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The spinal column provides support for the body and protection for the spinal cord. Structures of the spinal column include vertebrae, discs, muscles, and ligaments.
The spinal column is divided into sections. Each section has a name and each vertebra has a number. There are 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar vertebrae, and 1 sacral vertebra.
| | | | What is Spinal Cord Injury? |
Spinal cord injury occurs when there is any damage to the spinal cord which blocks communication between the brain and the rest of the body. After a spinal cord injury, messages below the level of injury are unable to get past the damage in the spinal cord.
This means feeling or sensory messages cannot get to the brain. Some or all feeling may be lost below the level of injury. Motor messages are unable to get past the damage in the spinal cord.
This means your brain cannot tell the muscles below the level of injury how and when to move. Bowel, bladder, and sexual control may also change after a spinal cord injury.
There may be changes in breathing, temperature control, heart rate, and blood pressure.
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Complete or Incomplete | There are two types of injury - complete and incomplete.
What does a complete injury mean?
A ‘complete’ spinal cord injury means that there is complete loss of movement and feeling below the level of the injury. Damage has occurred to the whole spinal cord and no messages are getting past the area of damage.
What does an incomplete injury mean?
An ‘incomplete’ spinal cord injury means that there is some movement and feeling below the level of the injury. Only part of the spinal cord has been damaged and some messages are getting through.
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Main causes of spinal cord injury in Ireland
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1. Accidents (most common cause)
Cars or motor cycles
Falls
Sports accidents
Violence
2. Inflammation Transverse myelitis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Guillain Barre (not actually a spinal injury but presents in the same way
3. Tumours of the Spine
Malignant
Benign (not cancer)
4. Bone diseases (degenerative change)
Wear and tear
Arthritis
5. Problems with blood supply to the spinal cord
Aneurysms or other vessel malformations
Interruption of blood supply to the spinal cord (like a stroke in the brain)
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What is the difference between paraplegia and quadriplegia?
| The main difference between paraplegia and quadriplegia relates to the extent of paralysis and loss of feeling in the limbs.
Paraplegia occurs when there is an injury to the spinal cord below the neck. This causes paralysis and loss of feeling in the legs, trunk and bladder, bowel and sex organs. Arm and hand function generally remains normal.
Quadriplegia (sometimes referred to as tetraplegia) occurs when there is an injury to the spinal cord in the neck or cervical cord segments. This causes paralysis and loss of feeling in the legs and arms, the trunk and bladder, bowel and sex organs.
People who have high level quadriplegia may require mechanical ventilation to assist with breathing.
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Do people with SCI ever get better? | At the time of injury, the spinal cord swells. When the swelling goes down, some functioning may return. Especially in incomplete injuries, functioning may return as late as 18 months after the injury. However, only a very small fraction of people with SCIs recover all functioning.
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Is there a cure? | Most body parts and organs can repair themselves after they are injured. However the central nervous system cannot. Attempting to repair the damage caused by a brain or spinal cord injury is a puzzle that has not yet been solved.
Nevertheless the damage caused by an SCI can be reduced by limiting immediate cell death and reducing the inflammation of the injured cord.
Attempts to regenerate function in the damaged area are focusing on regrowing nerves, blocking the mechanism that stops neurons from regrowing themselves, inserting new cells and bypassing the damaged area. |
Information on these strategies is available @ | | www.christopherreeve.org | | See also Making Connections. | | Making Connections | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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