While there are no guarantees, there is almost always hope for at least some improvement after a spinal cord injury. It is important for individuals to be patient in the months following their injury. Things to remember include: • People with a complete injury often regain control of one or two levels of muscle movement, meaning that there is some improvement, but not a full restoration to the previous state of health. • People with an incomplete injury are more likely to regain control of more muscle movement compared to people with a complete injury; however, there is no way to know how much, if any muscle movement, will return. • As long as the individual is seeing some improvement, such as regaining muscle movement, their chances for improvement are better. • However, the longer an individual goes without seeing any improvement, the lower their chances for improvement.