As you probably know, a spinal cord injury can change your life forever. There are many causes of this injury, including but not limited to motor vehicle accidents, sports collisions, falls and acts of violence.

Many people believe that a spinal cord has to be severed in order for loss of function to become a concern, however, this is not true. Bruising, crushing or stretching can lead to the same.

When dealing with a spinal cord injury, you’ll want to learn more about both complete and incomplete injuries. With an incomplete injury, the spinal cord does not completely lose its ability to send and receive messages from the brain. Along with this, movement may be possible below the point of the injury.

A complete injury is different, as this results in a complete lack of motor function and sensory below the injury. While both of these injuries are serious and while both require medical attention, a complete spinal cord injury is typically the more difficult of the two to treat.

Once you know what type of spinal cord injury you or your loved one has suffered, you can then work with the medical team to ensure that the right treatment strategy is employed in the future.

Simply put, any type of spinal cord injury is one that can cause a variety of problems. This will also call for many types of medical treatment. If you suffered a spinal cord injury as the result of another person’s negligence, such as in a car accident, look into all your options for recovering compensation. Any money you receive can be used to treat the injury in the future.

Source: Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, “What is a complete vs incomplete injury?,” accessed March 03, 2017