What is a spinal cord injury?

A spinal cord injury is involved any time a part of the vertebrae becomes damaged or dislocated. These damages can cause numerous problems, including impact upon the nerve track, and can prevent messages from being sent from the brain to other parts of the body. A complete spinal cord injury is defined as an injury in which the brain is completely unable to send messages through the spinal cord and down past some particular level of the vertebrae that has been injured. This causes paralysis below that particular area of injury, with a complete lack of feeling, function, or voluntary movement. An incomplete spinal cord injury is defined as one in which the spinal cord injury victim has some remaining function and sensation below the particular area of spinal injury, such as more function and sensation remaining in one lower extremity than in the other.