It helps a lot to learn about spinal cord injury, not that you would expect to have such condition or any of your loved one. All the same, it does not mean that we would be unguarded and ignorant about it.

As we may all be aware of, the major cluster of nerves carrying our nerve impulses or inclinations to and from our brain, distributing it to other parts of our body is known as the spinal cord.

All of are body movements account for the existence and normal function of these vital nerve impulses. Daily activities you need to think about first, like touching or walking and others that occur automatically or unconsciously, like breathing all takes place due to our spinal cord.

The Central Nervous System is made up of our brain and spinal cord. The Peripheral Nervous system existing outside the Central Nervous System is composed of sensory and motor nerves. Meanwhile the other systems controlling our involuntary or automatic functions, like our body temperature and blood pressure are considered as the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems.

As such, any damage or harm affecting the spinal cord results to Spinal Cord Injury or SCI. This condition causes loss of our functions. It could be our feeling or mobility, or worst, both.

Spinal Cord Injury is frequently the result in traumatic occurrences like gunshot, falls, car accidents, etc. or from diseases like spina bifida, polio, etc. Being a fragile system of our body, the spinal cord need not be absolutely severed so much so that a loss of essential function can occur.

Most people that have SCI still have their spinal cords intact but it is vitally damaged.

Causes of Critical Spinal Cord Injury

- Paralysis – A condition experienced by a person wherein he fails to control his muscles and voluntary movements of his body. A paralyzed person also loses his reflexes and sensation from the point where the damage or injury in the spinal cord is situated.

The person may start to lose control over his autonomic activities like breathing, bladder and bowel control. He can also experience pain or acute sensitivity to several stimuli, spasms of the muscle and sexual dysfunction.

Furthermore, patients with SCI have great possibility of developing some secondary medical problems. Most cases involve infections in the lungs and bladder and acquiring bedsores.

As of now, there are still no known cure for injuries and damages in the spinal cord, although the researches have developed some advanced treatments.

Experimental drugs are also being introduced although the reason for their effect of reducing body function failures has not yet been wholly understood.

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AAL