Understanding spinal cord injury
The nervous system includes the brain, spinal cord, and spinal nerves. The brain sends and receives messages or signals to and from the body. The spinal cord is a rope-like bundle of nerves. It runs inside the backbone from the neck to the low back. Messages travel to and from the brain by way of the spinal cord.
Spinal nerves branch off the spinal cord. The nerves carry messages of sensation and messages that make muscles move. A spinal cord injury blocks the messages below the level of injury. This means messages about movement, feeling, bowel and bladder control, sexual function, breathing, temperature, and blood pressure control can be blocked by a spinal cord injury. It depends on the level or location and the completeness of injury as to what types of symptoms might be present.
Spinal cord injuries affect many aspects of life. Issues range from general physical care to coping and sexuality. Other examples may include problems with breathing, blood pressure control, using the bathroom, and general safety, depending on the level and type of injury. Each person and each injury are different. This section explains each area in more detail.
Complete or incomplete injury
A complete spinal cord injury causes damage through the spinal cord at the specific level of injury. A complete injury can be defined as having no movement or feeling in the areas around the buttocks or rectum. A person may have some movement or feeling up to 3 levels below the level of injury. Keep in mind that it is also possible not to have any feeling or movement below the level of injury.
An incomplete spinal cord injury causes only partial damage to the cord. Some feeling or movement remains below the level of injury and in the buttocks and rectal area. There can be varying degrees of incompleteness. The amount of movement or feeling is determined by the location of the injury and how much damage has been done to the cord.
Level or location of injury
Levels of injury are usually talked about in reference to the location and number of the affected spinal nerve. Please see the table below.
Cervical area injury
If the injury is in the neck area, it is called a cervical injury. If there is an injury in the cervical area, it results in tetraplegia or quadriplegia, which means there is limited or absent feeling or movement below the shoulders and neck.
There are 8 pairs of spinal nerves in the cervical area, numbered 1-8. For example, if the injury affected spinal nerve 5 in the neck area, the injury would be called “C5,” with the “C” standing for cervical and the “5” standing for the fifth nerve in that area.
Thoracic area injury
Injuries lower in the spinal cord, thoracic area or lower, result in paraplegia, which means there is limited or absent feeling or movement in the chest and below.
There are 12 pairs of spinal nerves in the thoracic area, numbered 1-12. For example, if the injury affected spinal nerve 10 in the thoracic area, the injury would be called “T10, with the “T” standing for thoracic and the “10” standing for the 10th nerve in that area.
Lumbar area injury
There are 5 pairs of lumber spinal nerves, and 5 pairs of sacral spinal nerves.
Injuries in these areas would start with either an “L” for “lumbar” or an “S” for “sacral” and be followed with the number of the affected nerve. For example, if the injury affected spinal nerve 2 in the lumbar area, the injury would be called “L2.” If the injury affected spinal nerve 3 in the sacral area, the injury would be called “S3.”