BACKGROUND: Spinal cord trauma is damage to the spinal cord. It may result from direct injury to the cord itself or indirectly from damage to surrounding bones, tissues, or blood vessels. A spinal cord injury often causes permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury. It results in a change, either temporary or permanent, in its normal motor, sensory, or autonomic function. Patients with spinal cord injury usually have permanent and often devastating neurologic deficits and disability. (SOURCE: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth, http://www.emedicine.medscape.com, http://www.mayoclinic.com)

THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW: The International Standards for Neurological and Functional Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) is a widely accepted system describing the level and extent of injury based on a systematic motor and sensory examination of neurologic function. The following terminology has developed around the classification of spinal cord injuries:

Tetraplegia (replaces the term quadriplegia): Injury to the spinal cord in the cervical region with associated loss of muscle strength in all 4 extremities.

Paraplegia: Injury in the spinal cord in the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral segments, including the cauda equina and conus medullaris. (SOURCE: http://www.emedicine.medscape.com)

SYMPTOMS: The ability to control ones limbs after a spinal cord injury depends on two factors: the place of the injury along the spinal cord and the severity of injury to the spinal cord. The lowest normal part of the spinal cord is referred to as the neurological level of the injury. The severity of the injury is often called "the completeness" and is classified as either complete or incomplete. Spinal cord injuries of any kind may result in one or more of the following signs and symptoms:

Loss of movement

Loss of sensation, including the ability to feel heat, cold and touch

Loss of bowel or bladder control

Exaggerated reflex activities or spasms

Changes in sexual function, sexual sensitivity and fertility

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