There are more than ten thousand new cases of spinal cord injury in the United States every year. The causes of these injuries are mainly vehicular accidents, violence (gunshots or blows), falls and diseases. Most people with spinal cord injury result to paraplegia or quadriplegia, in which they lose mobility and feeling on either the upper or lower torso, or both. But how exactly spinal cord injury can greatly affect the life of a person? In this article, we will focus about the spinal cord and its functions, and the effects of a spinal cord injury.

The spinal cord is the second main organ on our central nervous system, next to the brain. It consists of a bundle of nerves that runs for about 18 inches from the brain stem down to the waist. It is surrounded by plates of bones called vertebra, which constitute the backbone. Its main function is to carry nerve impulses to and from the brain to the rest of the body.

The dysfunction of the spinal cord depends on the extent and location of the injury in the spinal column. But usually, damages are worse when the injury is done in the higher plates of the spinal column. Injuries in the cervical area of the vertebrae may result in paralysis of the head, neck and upper torso, while injuries in the thoracic area can lead to paralysis in chest and abdominal muscles. If assault is done on the lumbar and sacral area, it's usually the leg muscles that are affected, as well as control of the bowel, bladder and sexual functions.

Spinal cord injury can be categorized into two types: complete and incomplete. Complete spinal cord injury means that there is no voluntary mobility or sensation below the level of injury. An incomplete injury means that there is partial functioning of muscles and sensation below the primary level of injury. The most dreaded dysfunction of spinal cord injury is quadriplegia (loss of voluntary movement on all four limbs), which is the usual result of cervical neck injuries. Also, very high injuries in the thoracic area of the vertebrae can result in loss of involuntary bodily functions such as breathing, temperature control and blood pressure.

Rehabilitation for spinal cord injury is very important in order to restore the quality of life of a victim. Having a spinal cord injury is indeed devastating for the individual, especially for people who have been injured by negligence of others. I hope this article has given you insight about what happens with spinal cord injury so that you are better informed about the potential loss of a victim's quality of life. Indeed being careful and prudent in one's actions can avoid this dreaded injury to happen to anyone.

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