Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) occurs when a part of the spinal cord gets damaged, this results in some loss of movement and/or sensation. The spine is made up of bones called veterbrae which are stacked vertically on top of each other. The spinal cord runs down from the brain through the middle of these vertebrae, the nerves in the cord carry movement messages from the brain and sensation messages to the brain.
The spinal cord together with the brain make up the body's central nervous system. The spinal cord contains nerve cells, or neurons and long nerve fibres called axons. Axons in the spinal cord carry signals downward from the brain and upward towards the brain
When damage to the spinal cord occurs, the loss of movement and sensation in the body will correspond with the location of the damage to the cord. For example injuries at the top of the cord will result in loss of function in both the arms and legs whereas an injury in the middle section will result in loss of function in the chest and legs. This is because damage at any level will prevent messages getting to any of the parts below.
It is possible to have a broken back or neck without becoming paralysed. This is when the verterbra is broken but the spinal cord is left undamaged
It is also possible to have a partial spinal cord injury where the spinal cord is still able to carry some messages to and from the brain. People with this type of injury retain some sensation and possibly some motor function below the affected area. Many people with partial injuries are able to make some recovery.
Complete spinal cord injury is where total or near-total loss of sensation and motor function occurs. With a complete injury people are unable to make any kind of recovery. "Complete" does not indicate that the spinal cord has been severed - it is used to indicate the extent of the damage.
With spinal cord injury, the spinal cord is rarely completely severed.
The Frankel Scale is sometimes to grade the evaluation of functional recovery of a spinal cord injury the five gades are:
