Together with the brain, the spinal chord constitutes the central nervous system of the body. Only about 18 inches long, it stretches from the base of the brain about to the waist. It contains the nerves that convey messages from the brain to the spinal nerves along the spinal tract and back again. The nerves that branch off the spinal chord exit and enter at each vertebra, traveling to other parts of the body. A spinal cord trauma affects every area of the body from the point of injury down.
The Magic Chord
The spinal chord carries orders from the brain to the part of the body that will carry them out. An order to scratch an itch, tap a foot or cross a knee all travel along the spinal chord. Messages that travel to the brain include the sensations felt in every part of the body. That itch, the tickle the cold of a draft all travel from the various parts of the body to the chord and up to the brain.
When a spinal cord trauma occurs, the spinal chord does not have to be severed to be damaged. Also, the back or neck can be seriously injured without damaging the spinal chord. It is separate from the skeletal system and is part of the neurological system. When a spinal cord trauma results in a complete injury, there will be no function below the level of the injury. Complete injuries always affect both sides of the body equally.
All voluntary movement and physical sensation become impossible below the level of the injury. An incomplete injury is anything less than that. There may be sensation but no movement, one side of the body may be more affected than the other or the sensation may be more present on one side than the other.
The location of the injury caused by the spinal cord trauma is important. The location is described by the vertebra that is closest to the injury. Overall, the spine is divided into four main regions describing the parts of the body that are affected by the nerves at that level. The cervical region is at the top of the spine nearest the neck.
A cervical spinal cord trauma can result in complete paralysis. Above the third vertebra, a complete injury will result in diaphragm failure and require a ventilator to breathe. The thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions affect parts of the body respectively lower. While science is optimistic about future treatment for spinal cord trauma injuries, there is no way to heal them today.
