What happens to the bladder, bowel, and sexual function?
The spinal cord also carries “autonomic” signals that control blood pressure, blood flow, breathing, sweating, bowel, bladder, sexual, and other autonomic functions.
• Bladder Paralysis...
How is spinal cord injury classified?
In 1990, the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) proposed a uniform classification system that had five categories, defined in Table 1. Motor...
Has the spinal cord been decompressed?
The spinal cord injury usually results from fracture of vertebral bones that compress the spinal cord. Continued spinal cord compression increases tissue damage...
How many spinal cord injuries occur in the U.S. each year?
Studies suggest the incidence rate of SCI is about 40 cases per million population, excluding those who die at the scene of the...
Whats leading cause of death?
In years past, the leading cause of death among persons with SCI was renal failure. Today, however, significant advances in urologic management have...
What is a Stem Cell?
All mammals begin as two cells -- sperm and egg -- that combine into a single cell. This single cell will divide exponentially...
Causes of Spinal Cord Injury
The most common causes of spinal cord injury are car and other motor vehicle collisions (54.7%), falls (17.7%), and other medical conditions and...
What happens when nerve fibers regrow?
The nerve cell body remains intact, and only the "sending" or "receiving" fibers have to regrow as longer extensions from the nerve cell...
What is the phrenic nerve and where is it situated?
The phrenic nerve goes from the spinal cord to the diaphragm, a large muscle at the bottom of your chest that mediates breathing...
Does everyone who sustains a spinal cord injury use a wheelchair?
No. Wheelchairs are tools for mobility. High C-level injuries usually require that the individual use a power wheelchair. Low C-level injuries and below...
