What is Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal Cord Injury occurs when there is any damage to the spinal cord that blocks communication between the brain and the body. Click on the links below to find out more.

What is the spine?

What is the spinal cord?

Post injury

Understanding Spinal Cord Injury

How we help

Latest

Running the London Marathon is a dream come true

Tope thought he had left it too late to run the London Marathon
Victoria is running because she injured her spinal cord

Victoria sustained her injury when horse riding
Adam is running the London Marathon for Aspire after recovering from a tumour near his spinal cord

"Coming across the work that Aspire does, there was really no other choice for me."
Brian took on the first Original Marathon

Every now and again I see an event that is so special that I have to enter.

What is the spinal cord?

The spinal cord is about as thick as a finger and some twenty inches long. It is a part of your nervous system, made up of bundles of nerve fibres carrying messages from the brain to all parts of the body.
What is the spine?

The spine consists of a chain of bony rings called vertebrae which provide support for our whole body, linking head, shoulders, chest and pelvis. There are 33 vertebrae which are divided into 5 major sections.
Post injury

Injuries to the spinal cord do not usually cut through the cord. However, they do cause damage to the thin, fibrous nerve fibres within the spinal column. The most obvious effect of spinal cord injury is the reduced ability to move and feel things below the level of injury.