The vertebra of the spine are displaced or crushed, which injures the spinal cord or the spinal column.
Damage is often permanent and irreversible.
When the spinal cord is damaged, the messages and signals to and from the brain cannot get through, resulting in paralysis, that is, loss of function and feeling of the area below the level of the injury. This usually means that the person will use a wheelchair. Muscle spasm in paralysed muscles is also common and often exacerbates the disability. If the spine is injured below the level of the neck the person is said to be paraplegic and will be paralysed to some degree in the legs and abdomen. Movement in the trunk and chest will depend on the height of the lesion.