What is the main cause of quadriplegia and what does it mean?
When the spinal cord is damaged, it can no longer transmit all or some of the messages to the brain. A partial or total injury to the spinal cord causes what we call paraplegia. Accidents involving a break to the spinal column are the main cause of quadriplegia. Other triggers include diseases or tumors, though these are more rare. Paralysis can affect the muscles of the arms, legs, and torso, depending on the location of the spinal injury. The ability to feel touch, pain, and temperature, as well as spatial awareness are all lost. Bladder, bowel and sexual function are also impaired. Around 60 percent of all people with paraplegia have damage to the cervical spinal cord, which causes quadriplegia (also called tetraplegia). An injury this high in the spinal cord results in paralysis of all four limbs (hence the names, from the Latin quadri and Greek tetra meaning four). The damage to the cervical spinal cord also affects the person’s breathing.
