Spinal Cord Injuries

There are many things we take for granted. The mountains in the west; the tide; the sun coming up; our next breath. All of these are taken for granted either because we’ve seen them or felt them so many times that they’re invisible to us now, or are just the way things are. But what if they were suddenly gone? What if the mountains crumbled, the tide never came in, the sun didn’t rise, or you stopped breathing. In many ways, this is what it might be like to suddenly have a serious spinal cord injury. One minute you can walk, just like you always have, the next you can’t feel your legs.
Spinal cord injuries can, and do, happen in a variety of situations. However, they are most common in auto accidents, truck accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, and construction accidents. In addition, many spinal cord injuries are a result of diving accidents. They can occur on any part of the spinal cord, which runs from the brain stem to your coccyx. Any disruption of the nerves through bruising, pinching, or severing will result in a loss of the way to transmit signals and information from the brain to different parts of the body. This, of course, is determined by the location of the injury.

Segments
Your vertebrae are divided into five different segments. Each segment has a pair of corresponding nerves, and is named depending on their location.
• Cervical vertebrae – spinal nerves one through eight (C1 to C8) control the back of the head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and diaphragm
• Thoracic vertebrae – spinal nerves one through 12 (T1 to T12) control parts of the arms and the torso
• Lumbar vertebrae – spinal nerves one through five (L1 to L5) control the hips and legs
• Sacral vertebrae – spinal nerves one through five (S1 to S5) control the groin, parts of the legs, and toes

This is all fused together at the base of the spine, known as the coccygeal bone (commonly known as the tail bone).

Types of Injuries
If any of these nerves are injured, there is a chance that the part of the body that relies on them to function will be seriously harmed. There are two types of spinal cord injuries:
• Complete injury - Removes all function below the location of the injury. A person with this type of injure is unable to move the affected area and feels no sensation. Quadriplegia (paralysis of both arms and legs) and paraplegia (paralysis of the legs) may result from a complete injury
• Partial injury - Some movement and sensation is intact. One limb or side of the body may be affected while the other functions normally

Because the spinal nerves control more than movement, other bodily functions may be impaired, including breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure. Furthermore, these injuries may not show up for several months or years, and can be difficult to diagnose. Treatment for spinal cord injuries varies, and may be expensive.