What causes spinal cord injury?
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is always an emergency as it could lead to chronic painful conditions, permanent paralysis or even death. SCI occurs when a traumatic event (usually a car, diving or sport accident) results in damage to cells within the spinal cord or severs the nerve tracts that relay signals up and down the spinal cord. The most common types of SCI include contusion (bruising of the spinal cord) and compression (caused by pressure on the spinal cord). Other types of injuries include lacerations (severing or tearing of nerve fibres, such as damage caused by a gunshot wound), and central cord syndrome (specific damage to the corticospinal tracts in the neck region of the spinal cord). The types of disability associated with SCI vary greatly depending on the severity of the injury, the segment of the spinal cord at which the injury occurs, and which nerve fibres are damaged. Usually the higher up in the cervical spine the injury, the greater the damage. If treated correctly, mos
