The spinal cord can be damaged in many ways, producing a variety of symptoms. It can be cut, bruised, or compressed in an accident, injured by infection, damaged when its blood supply is cut off, or affected by diseases that alter its nerve function.
Tetraplegia [formerly called quadriplegia] generally describes the condition of a person with a spinal cord injury in the cervical region. This individual can experience a loss of feeling and/or movement in their head, neck, shoulder, arms and/or chest, stomach, hips, legs, and feet.
Paraplegia is the general term describing the condition of a person who has lost feeling and/or is not able to move the lower parts of his/her body. The body parts that may be affected are the chest, stomach, hips, legs, and feet.
An individual with a level from T1 to S5 has paraplegia.
Depending on the level of injury, damage to the spinal cord can result in paralysis of the muscles used for breathing; paralysis and/or loss of feeling in all or some of the trunk, arms, and legs; weakness; numbness; loss of bowel and bladder control; and numerous secondary conditions including respiratory problems, pressure sores, and sometimes fatal spikes in blood pressure.
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