There’s a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to spinal cord injuries. Unless you have a medical degree, you might think of the back and the spinal cord as one and the same, and that a spinal cord injury is just another way to say back injury. However, while the spinal cord constitutes part of the back in a broad sense, a spinal cord injury differs significantly from any other injury to the back.
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that runs from the base of the head to the bottom of the back. It is surrounded by the vertebral column, which protects it from most injuries. The cord transmits signals to and from the brain. As such, injury to the spinal cord can cause serious and catastrophic damage by interrupting the transmission of those signals. There are two basic types of spinal cord injury; complete and incomplete.
Complete spinal cord injuries result in total paralysis below the point of the injury. The person retains no feeling or function on either side of the body. With incomplete injuries, the injured person may retain some function on one side of the body. In almost all cases, spinal cord injuries are permanent.