Which signals get disrupted in case of spinal cord injury?

Question

tell me about the signals

Answer 1

Different parts of the body are damaged according to which parts of the spinal cord are damaged.  You have to be very specific on the injuries.  

Answer 2

It depends on where and how much damage is actually done to the cord itself. I've had a spinal cord injury since July 12, 1981 and at the time the doctors said the level of my injury was C5-C6 both in the neck thus I have a cervical injury. I couldn't move a muscle for 4 days. My right side began to come back first my shoulder and then down into my arm...a few days later my left side began its return. Even though I was totally paralyzed I still had sensation everywhere and still do today. This shows that the cord wasn't completely severed and some messages were still getting through. I have no use of any muscles below my armpits yet I have somehow been able to compensate for the loss of balance and mobility.

   You can take 10 people or more who have the same level of injury yet every single one of them will be very different as far as what amount of function their body has. I know of one man who is considered a walking quad. His legs work better than his arms and with a lot of therapy his legs have almost returned to normal with the exception of not having any sensation in them at all. He has to watch his every step so he doesn't stumble over anything causing him to fall. Obviously the messages are getting through to his legs that tell the muscles how to move in order for him to walk.

   With all of the studies being done the researchers have found that there are differences in the spinal cord for example the front part seems to control senses and the back part mobility and even then there are exceptions to that rule.

   My physical therapist told me that 95 to 97% of all injuries are incomplete with the exception of those who's injuries were caused in a violent way such as gunshots and stabbings. Every single person has different levels of fuction. Most of the other injuries are incomplete and many are caused by swelling one of the bodies ways of protecting itself. She gives an example of a lightning bolt it goes streaking across the sky following the path of least resistance and sometimes it hits something or someone on the ground. In the body its not much different since the messages sent are electrical and if a part of the cord is still intact messages will try that different path of least resistance which in many cases actually ends up causing pain sometimes it can be very severe and for others tolerable.

   I could continue giving one example after another but no matter how you look at it every injury is different and thus every person ends up with different abilities.

Answer 3

Short answer:

Spinal cord injuries disrupt the transmission of neural messages between the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.

Long answer:

As many as 400,000 Americans are living with spinal cord injuries. Most spinal cord injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30, and about 82 percent of those who experience spinal cord injuries are male. Motor vehicle accidents account for approximately 44 percent of all spinal cord injuries. Other common causes include:

• Acts of violence, including those that cause knife and gunshot wounds

• Slips and falls

• Sports-related injuries, mostly diving accidents

• Trampoline accidents

Results of Spinal Cord Injury

After the spinal cord has been injured, messages no longer flow through the neurons in the damaged area, essentially cutting off information between the brain and certain parts of the body. Generally, the functions of the body located above the point of injury will continue to work with no loss of function, while the areas of the body located below the point of injury will be impaired. Impairment can include the following:

• Motor deficit

• Sensory deficit

• Breathing difficulty

• Bowel and/or bladder dysfunction

Level of Injury

Doctors and specialists use the level of injury to most accurately predict which parts of the body are most likely to be affected by loss of movement and sensation. Complete injuries will result in total loss of movement and sensation below the point of injury, while incomplete injuries will result in some degree of loss of movement and sensation below the point of injury. Levels of injury are classified as:

• Neck

• C-1 to C-4

• C-5

• C-6

• C-7 and T-1

• T-1 to T-8

• T-9 to T-12

Answer 4

The spine is a bundle of nerves protected by bone; the signals carried by it are electrical.

The nerve bundle = spinal cord

The skeletal structure supporting and protecting it = the spine.

According to Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_cord

"The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nerves that is an extension of the central nervous system from the brain and is enclosed in and protected by the bony vertebral column. The main function of the spinal cord is transmission of neural inputs between the periphery plus the brain."

According to Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerves

"A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of axons (the long, slender projection of a neuron). Neurons are sometimes called nerve cells, though this term is technically imprecise since many neurons do not form nerves, and nerves also include the non-axon glial cells that ensheath the axons in myelin....

Most nerves connect to the central nervous system through the spinal cord."

Nerves carry electrical systems from the brain to control the body.  If you break your spine you can damage the nerves and so become paralyzed or suffer other injuries.