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Spinal cord injury’ refers to damage to the spinal cord resulting from trauma or from disease or degeneration. Symptoms of spinal cord injury depend on the severity of injury and its location on the spinal cord.

SCI can be described as complete or incomplete.

  • An incomplete injury means the spinal cord is still able to send some messages to or from the brain. People with incomplete injuries still have some feeling, function, and muscle control below the site of their injury.
  • A complete injury means that there is no nerve communication below the injury site; muscle control, feeling, or function below the injury is lost.

SCI can cause one or more symptoms, including:

  • Numbness, tingling, or a loss of (or changes in) sensation in hands and feet
  • Paralysis (loss of movement)
  • Pain or pressure in the head, neck, or back
  • Weakness in any part of the body
  • Unnatural positions of the spine or head
  • Loss of bladder and bowel control
  • Problems with walking
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Changes in sexual function

Spinal Cord Injury Levels and Types

  • Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Thoracic Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Lumbar Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Sacral Spinal Cord Injuries

The American Spinal Cord Injury Association or ASIA defined an international classification based on neurological levels, touch and pinprick sensations tested in each dermatome, and strength of ten key muscles on each side of the body, i.e. shoulder shrug (C4), elbow flexion (C5), wrist extension (C6), elbow extension (C7), hip flexion (L2). Traumatic spinal cord injury is classified into five types by the American Spinal Injury Association and the International Spinal Cord Injury Classification System.

A indicates a “complete” spinal cord injury where no motor or sensory function is preserved in the sacral segments S4-S5. Since the S4-S5 segment is the lower segmental, absence of motor and sensory function indicates “complete” spinal cord injury.

B indicates an “incomplete” spinal cord injury where sensory but not motor function is preserved below the neurological level and includes the sacral segments S4-S5. This is typically a transient phase and if the person recovers any motor function below the neurological level, that person essentially becomes a motor incomplete, i.e. ASIA C or D.

C indicates an “incomplete” spinal cord injury where motor function is preserved below the neurological level and more than half of key muscles below the neurological level have a muscle grade of less than 3.

D indicates an “incomplete” spinal cord injury where motor function is preserved below the neurological level and at least half of the key muscles below the neurological level have a muscle grade of 3 or more.

E indicates “normal” where motor and sensory scores are normal. Note that it is possible to have spinal cord injury and neurological deficit with completely normal motor and sensory scores.