Your spinal cord is a long, tubelike structure that consists of nerves that carry incoming and outgoing messages between the brain and the rest of the body. It is surrounded by layers of tissue and housed within the spine, a bony structure designed to protect the spinal cord. Yet in spite of all this protection, the spinal cord can sustain injury – typically through some type of trauma – which can often cause permanent changes in strength, sensation, and body functions below the site of the injury.

Spinal cord injury can either result in a bruise (also called a contusion), a partial tear, or a complete tear (called a transection) in the spinal cord.