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. The messages may be for motion or for Vertebrae and spinal cord feeling and sensation, such as heat cold or pain.

These nerve fibres make up the communication systems of the body. The spinal cord can be compared to a telephone cable; it connects the main office (the brain) to many individual offices (parts of the body) by telephone lines (nerve fibres) and is the pathway that messages use to travel between the brain and other parts of the body.

Cervical nerves (nerves in the neck) supply movement and feeling to the arms, neck and upper trunk

Thoracic nerves (nerves in the upper back) supply the trunk and abdomen

Lumbar and sacral nerves (from the lower back) supply the legs, the bladder, bowel and sexual organs.

Information provided by Dr Angela Gall, Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine

Understanding Spinal Cord Injury

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Kathleen swims because her mum had a spinal cord injury and was helped by Aspire
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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.
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.