1
Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal
cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling.
Frequent causes of damage are trauma (car accident, gunshot,
falls, etc.) or disease (polio, spina bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia,
etc.). The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss
of functioning to occur. In fact, in most people with SCI, the spinal
cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning.
SCI is very different from back injuries such as ruptured disks, spinal
stenosis or pinched nerves.
A person can "break their back or
neck" yet not sustain a spinal cord injury if only the bones around the
spinal cord (the vertebrae) are damaged, but the spinal cord is not
affected. In these situations, the individual may not experience
paralysis after the bones are stabilized.