The Spinal Cord
The spinal column is divided into four regions: the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions.  (please see diagram).  The spine itself is composed of bone sections called vertebrae which form the house that contains the spinal cord.  The spinal cord makes up an integral part of the central nervous system and is responsible for all voluntary actions such as walking, moving fingers and arms, etc.  Messages sent from the brain travel up and down the spinal cord toward their intended destination to the particular part of the body that is desired to be moved.  The spinal cord is also responsible for controlling certain involuntary actions such as sensation and breathing.  With such an important role, it becomes obvious that this 18" long structure is vital to the proper functioning of the human body and consequently when damaged, can have significant consequences on the ability to perform the most simplest of daily movement.

 

Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)
Spinal cord injuries basically fall under two categories.  The first is quadriplegia which is an injury to the cervical region of the spine resulting in paralysis of both the upper and lower extremities of the body.  Second is paraplegia which results from an injury to the thoracic lumbar or sacral areas of the spine.  Consequently, the patient suffers paralysis in the lower extremities.  Spinal cord injuries result from a break in the line of communication between the brain and the muscles due to damage to the cord.  It is similar to cutting the phone line in your home.  The messages are sent but are not recovered due to the damage or broken cord.  The brain continues to send messages and the muscles which are unaffected still await their commands, but, due to the damage, the commands cannot get through.

 

Spinal cord injuries result from various forms of trauma.  For example, vehicle accidents, diving accidents and gunshot wounds.  In addition, there are several diseases that can also result in SCI such as spina bifida and polio.  The vast majority of SCI patients are males with over 80% of all injuries.  While the age group of spinal injury patients is broad, the overwhelming majority are men between the ages of 16-30.

 

The Numbers
In the United States, there are about 450,000 people with spinal cord injuries (SCI). There are close to 8,000 new spinal cord injuries every year. The vast majority of them are young males (between 16 and 30 years old - 82%).