SCI Facts

Spinal Nerves

There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves exiting the spinal column, with each spinal nerve having two roots, a front (anterior) motor root and a back (posterior) sensory root. The first spinal nerve however has no sensory root.

The Stats

There are approximately 17,000 new spinal cord injuries in the United States each year. Vehicle crashes are currently the leading cause of injury, followed by falls, acts of violence (primarily gunshot wounds), and sports/recreation activities.

Motor Root

The front or anterior root carries signals from the spinal cord to muscles to initiate muscle movement.

Sensory Root

The sensory root in the back carries information related to touch, position, pain, and temperature from the body to the spinal cord.

Tetraplegia or Quadriplegia

These terms generally describe the condition of a person with a spinal cord injury in the cervical region. This individual can experience a loss of feeling and/or movement in their head, neck, shoulder, arms and/or chest, stomach, hips, legs, and feet.

Paraplegia

A general term describing the condition of a person who has lost feeling and/or is not able to move the lower parts of his/her body. The body parts that may be affected are the chest, stomach, hips, legs, and feet. Any thoracic level injury will cause paraplegia.

Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury

When an injury is incomplete, the spinal cord’s ability to carry messages to or from the brain is not completely lost. Often some sensation and movement remains below the level of injury.

Complete Spinal Cord Injury

In a complete spinal cord injury there is loss of sensation and motor function below the level of injury. Complete injuries are the most devastating and present with greater functional loss than an incomplete injury at a similar cord level.

Spinal Cord Injury Complications

The level of injury and the type of injury (incomplete or complete), usually will determine the extent of functional loss or disability that the individual will experience. Complications are numerous and often vary from individual to individual. Complications related to spinal cord injury will most often occur in multiples (bladder, bowel, skin, movement, etc.) further creating any number of resulting complications.

Upper Extremities
The loss of use of upper extremity function can vary greatly depending on the level of injury and type of injury (complete or incomplete). The higher the level of injury, the less upper extremity function there is. The lower level (paraplegic) injury may experience no deficits at all while the tetraplegic/quadriplegic injury may suffer complete loss of use. Not being able to use arms and/or hands can create great difficulties for someone with a spinal cord injury. It may mean hiring a care provider to help with activities of daily living such as cooking, bathing, dressing, grooming, shopping and taking medications. It also precludes the use of a manual wheelchair and creates dependency for mobility on another person (wheelchair pusher) or the use of a costly powered wheelchair that is difficult to transport and due to its mechanical nature, much more prone to breakdowns and expensive repairs.

Lower Extremities
As in all things spinal cord injury, the higher the level of injury, the less function that will be retained. Lower extremity functions such as walking, running, climbing, are almost always impaired or completely lost after injury at any cord level. A number of complications will arise that are related to not being able to stand and/or walk. Most SCI will experience atrophy (the loss of muscle bulk) as well as osteoporosis (decrease in bone density) which will place the individual at much higher risk for breaks and fractures. The inability to stand can also increase the risk of pressure sores to areas of the body such as buttocks, lower back and thighs since weight can not be relieved on these areas as a preventative measure. Acquisition of joint contractures, a condition where joints of the leg become rigidly locked in a certain position making it difficult at times to sit in a wheelchair properly, perform transfers to and from wheelchair, chairs, and cars, or get close to objects such as tables, doorknobs, and counters.

Skin
Loss of skin sensation below the level of injury. The individual may not feel and therefore not respond to prolonged pressure on the skin or damaging/painful levels of hot or cold. Without this protective mechanism an individual is more susceptible to pressure sores (damage to the skin and or underlying flesh), serious burns and issues related to exposure to cold.

Circulation
Circulatory complications may range from low blood pressure to swelling of the extremities creating higher at risk situations for developing blood clots and pulmonary embolus. A life threatening circulation complication for SCI is rise in blood pressure known as autonomic dysreflexia or autonomic hyperreflexia.

Bladder
The bladder stores urine as always. However, because of the the injury to the spinal cord, the individual may not be able to willfully void the bladder, control the flow of urine or even sense that they need to void. This loss of bladder control can increase the risk of urinary tract infections (UTI) and increase the risk of developing kidney infections and kidney stones. Use of an in-dwelling or external urinary catheter is often necessary to facilitate personal urinary care.

Bowel
After an injury loss of control of bowel movements is often the case and it becomes difficult or impossible to empty one’s bowels. This condition is known as neurogenic bowel. It is a lack of nervous control (caused by a spinal cord injury or disease) that prevents the bowel from functioning correctly. The lack of function results in fecal incontinence, chronic constipation, or both. Bowel training (during rehab) can help regulate bowel movements but often a care provider is needed to complete the bowel maintenance process.

Respiratory
The higher level injuries, tetraplegia/quadriplegia can cause difficulties in breathing and coughing since the injury may have impacted on muscles (abdominal, diaphragm, chest muscles) that assist in breathing. At the higher levels of injury, impaired breathing may be so profound that the individual may need to be placed either temporarily or permanently on a respirator. This complication brings with it a greater risk of respiratory infection and pneumonia.

Sexuality
Sexual function and fertility can be affected after a spinal cord injury (SCI) in both men and women. Men may notice changes in erection and ejaculation; women may notice changes in lubrication and the ability to reach an orgasm. Very few men with complete SCI have ejaculations even though they may obtain an erection. Women however are able to get pregnant after a spinal cord injury. It is critical that individuals with a SCI contact urologists and fertility specialists who specialize in and are experienced with SCI.

Source: unitedspinal.org