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Spinal Cord Injury Facts
Approximately 250,000 people in the United States are living
with a spinal cord injury, and nearly 11,000 new spinal cord
injuries occur each year. More than half of all spinal cord
injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30.
Spinal Cord Injury
A spinal cord injury results in sensory and/or motor impairment
- affecting the spinal cord's ability to send and receive
messages from the brain. These messages normally go to the
systems that control motor, sensory, and autonomic (involuntary)
functions.
A spinal cord injury can occur from trauma to the vertebral
column, or from trauma to the spinal cord itself. In addition
to movement and feeling, a spinal cord injury affects other
bodily functions, such as breathing, bowel and bladder control.
There may also be changes in sexual function.
Sometimes after injuries the spinal cord is only bruised
or swollen. As the swelling goes down, the nerves may begin
to work again. However, there are no tests to determine whether
nerves will work again.
Complete or Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injuries are classified as:
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Complete (45% since 1988)
With complete injuries, there is total nerve damage -
every signal coming from the brain and going to body parts
below the injury is obstructed.
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Incomplete (55% since 1988)
With incomplete injuries, there is partial nerve damage
- only some of the signals are obstructed. The amount
and type of message that can pass between the brain and
the rest of the body depends on how many nerves have been
damaged. There is a greater chance of return of function
with an incomplete injury; however, it is impossible to
predict how much will return.
Level of Spinal Cord Injury ( Paraplegia, Quadriplegia,
Tetraplegia)
Which vertebrae of the spinal cord has been injured determines
the level of injury. The closer the injury is to the brain,
the greater the feeling and function loss will be.
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Paraplegia (53% of SCI) results in a loss of feeling
and movement in the lower parts of the body.
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Quadriplegia, also known as tetraplegia (47% of SCI)
is paralysis in both the upper and lower parts of the
body (from the neck down).
Since 1990, according to the Spinal Cord Injury Information
Network, the largest neurologic category is incomplete tetraplegia
(29.5%). This is followed by complete paraplegia (27.3%),
incomplete paraplegia (21.3%), and complete tetraplegia (18.5%).
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