What is a Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury?
The Spinal Cord: The spinal cord is a bundle of nerve cells and their projections (called axons) approximately 1 ½ feet long that extends from the brain down the back. It is housed in the spinal column, a collection of 33 interconnected bones called vertebrae. Trauma to Spinal Cord: Injury to the spinal cord can occur after a sudden or traumatic blow to the spinal column. This can displace spinal disc material, free ligaments or fracture the vertebrae which can then bruise, compress, penetrate, or cut the spinal cord. The degree of severity of the injury will depend on the level (higher or lower) of the injury and the type of injury. The most severe form of injury is a complete severing or “transaction” of the cord (called a complete spinal cord injury) but this is rare. Spinal cord injury can result in changes in the ability to move and feel parts of the body, loss of bladder control and loss of other bodily function. The spectrum of injury runs from complete recovery to complete para
