Your spinal cord is a vital part of your central nervous system, and even a small injury to it can lead to severe and catastrophic disability. For this reason, nature has encased the spinal cord within the thick layers of bone of the spinal column and surrounding muscle. Nevertheless, the spinal cord is vulnerable to injury and disease because it compresses so much function into a narrow structure. Spinal cord injuries are called either traumatic, which results from some sort of trauma, or non-traumatic, which results from disease.
When the spinal cord is damaged, the body may not function as it did. The brain and spinal cord may be unable to transmit messages to and from the brain about sensations like temperature, position, and touch. It also does not receive information back regarding movements of the arms, trunk (or torso), and legs. Both of these message relays occur in a matter of milliseconds.
For example, when someone pets a cat, sensory receptors in the person’s hand send signals along nerves to the spinal cord and brain. The sensation is then interpreted and experienced as soft and furry. By contrast, when a person is driving and a cat darts in front of his car, the brain analyzes this event as an emergency and relays a message through the driver’s spinal cord to move his foot and slam on the brakes.
Below are several types of spinal cord injuries often seen by our Hamilton spinal cord injury lawyers, along with some other important information:
Levels of Injury: The Anatomy of The Spinal Cord
Understanding the anatomy of the spinal cord is important for fully comprehending different types of spinal cord injury.
Your Spine
Your spinal cord is a soft, rope-like structure of millions of nerves and is surrounded (and protected) by 29 vertebral bones that make up the spinal column. The vertebrae are stacked one on top of another, and each has a hole, creating a canal through which your spinal cord passes. The vertebrae are cushioned from one another by spongy material called disks. Ligaments hold the vertebrae in the proper alignment.
The spine is separated into four sections. The cervical segment constitutes the neck; the thoracic segment, which runs to the waist and attaches to the ribs; the lower spine, or lumbar segment, which essentially constitutes the lower back; and lastly, the sacrum, or sacral segment, consists of five fused vertebrae near the buttocks and above the tailbone.
Cervical spine (levels C1 to C8)
This is the very top part of the spine, running from the head down the neck and ending where the neck meets the back and shoulders. Cervical spine injuries are among the most severe types of spinal cord injuries as this is the most narrow section of the spine, and it has a direct physical proximity to the brain.
Thoracic spine (levels T1 to T12)
Also known as the upper back, the thoracic spine encompasses the middle of the back, running from the base of the neck down to the abdomen. It is the longest spinal cord section and supports many of the body’s vital organs, ribs, and nerves.
Lumbar spine (levels L1 to L5)
Located in the lower back, nerves in the lumbar spine are responsible for sending messages to the bowels, legs, feet, and lower intestines. Generally, injuries at this level impact the lower body almost exclusively.
Sacral spine (levels S1 to S5)
This level is located at the bottom of the spinal cord, just above the buttocks and tailbone. Spinal cord injuries at this level are less common but are largely at risk during accidents such as slips and falls or with sports injuries.
Your Spinal Cord
Your spinal cord is a complex, fragile bundle of nerve fibres bound like a cable and less than an inch wide. It’s the primary connection between the brain and the rest of the body. It runs from the base of the brain down to the lower back and is surrounded by bone for protection. The spinal nerves are paired and travel to various parts of the body. There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, numbered according to sections of your spinal column.
The spinal cord is divided into four sections: cervical, thoracic, and lumbar. Each is responsible for controlling a particular part of the body. Specifically, the cervical spinal cord carries information about movement and feeling to and from the upper body, arms, and hands. The thoracic cord does the same for the trunk, and the lumbar cord does the same for the lower body and legs.
In all three sections, sensory and motor information travel through different pathways, so one might be able to feel his leg even if they can’t move it. After the last section of the spinal cord (L1 or L2), a group of loosely bound nerves known as the lower lumbar and sacral cord continues downward.
In particular, the sections of the spinal and accompanying spinal nerves are as follows:
- The cervical or neck section (C1 to C8) includes 8 nerves and 7 vertebrae in the neck area.
- The thoracic or chest section (T1 to T12) includes 12 nerves and 12 vertebrae in the chest and abdomen (belly) area.
- The lumbar or low back section (L1 to L5) includes 5 nerves and 5 vertebrae in the lower back. The spinal cord ends at the L2 level. Beyond this point, many nerves form the cauda equina, or “horse’s tail,” which is what the bundle of nerves looks like.
- The sacral section (S1 to S5) includes the lowest nerves exiting the spinal cord in the pelvic area (area of the buttocks). The sacrum is actually several vertebral bones that are fused or attached to form one large bone with five nerves emerging from holes in each side of the bone.
Common Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal Cord Injury arises from many causes, which are both traumatic and non-traumatic.
Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
This often results from a sudden, traumatic impact on the spine that either fractures or dislocates vertebral bones. The initial forces delivered to the spinal cord during injury are known as primary injury, where displaced bone fragments, disc materials, and/or ligaments bruise or tear into the spinal cord tissue. Traumatic