www.neurosurgery .org.8089/pubpages/patres/faq spine.html) The spinal cord is made up of segments that control different regions of the body. Nerves from each segment of the spinal cord connect to specific regions of the body. The cervical region or neck are referred to as C1 through C8; they control signals to the neck, arms, and hands. The segments in thoracic or upper back region T1 through T12 relay signals to the torso and some parts of the arms. The segments in the upper lumbar or mid-back region just below the ribs, L1 through L5, control signals to the hips and legs. Last, the sacral segments S1 through S5 lie just below the lumbar segments in the mid-back and control signals to the groin, toes, and some parts of the legs. The effects of spinal cord injury at different segments reflect this organization.(SC-Basic Anatomy of Spine-http://www.goes.com/billr/html/_anatomy_of_a_spinal_cord.html)Injuries to the spinal cord may be caused indirectly, as by a blow to the head or a fall; by traffic accidents, sports injuries, or violence. The consequences depend on the amount of damage the cord sustains and where the damage occurs. Although spinal injuries are only a small fraction of all injuries; accidents cause an estimated 10,000 spinal cord injuries each year. Each year, more than two million Americans suffer a head or spinal injury; most are males between the ages of 15 and 30. Motor vehicle crashes cause about half of those.(Community First Aid and Safety-Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis, 1993) 200,000 Americans live day-to-day with disabling effects of such traumas. The area of the body affected depends on the location of the damage to the spinal cord. There may be numbness and weakness, or paralysis of all muscles below the level of the injury, including those that control your bowels and bladder. Sometimes muscles on only one side of the body are affected. Pain is not always a symptom of inju...
