People often confuse injuries to the spinal cord with injuries to the spine. The spine is part of the skeletal system. It protects the spinal cord, the head, and back. The spinal cord is part of the central nervous system, which controls the body’s movement and sensation. Doctors refer to an SCI by a letter and a number. The letter represents the spinal column level where the injury occurred. The number represents the vertebrae involved.
Healthcare providers commonly refer to spinal cord injuries as either complete or incomplete. In an incomplete injury, some messages are still getting through to the brain. However, different nerves will be sending messages, so the injured person’s function and sensation will be different in each case.
However, a complete injury blocks the messages back and forth to the brain, so the injured person loses their motor function below the point of injury and is paralyzed. According to the American Spinal Injury Association, the location of the injury marks the level of mobility and sensation.