Spinal cord injuries consist of two main levels.
Complete Spinal Cord Injury
A complete spinal cord injury results in permanent damage to that particular area of the spinal cord.
Victims of a complete spinal cord injury will have paraplegia or tetraplegia (quadriplegia).
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury
Someone with an incomplete spinal cord injury will have partial damage. The victim could have some mobility and feeling. However, the amount of mobility will depend on the area of the injured spine and the severity of the injury.
The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC) reports the most common spinal cord injury is incomplete tetraplegia, followed by complete paraplegia and complete tetraplegia.
Unfortunately, less than 1% of people experience a complete neurological recovery prior to hospital discharge.
The NSCISC report shows that 30% of people with spinal cord injuries need one or more future hospitalizations during any given year after sustaining damage to their spinal cord.
The most common reason victims need to return to the hospital is for genitourinary system diseases, followed by skin infections. Other common causes for hospitalization include circulatory, digestive, respiratory, and musculoskeletal disorders.