How Spinal Cord Injuries Affect the Body

A spinal cord injury affects the body by disrupting the signals that travel between the brain and everything below the point of injury. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), that disruption can cause temporary or permanent changes in feeling, movement, strength, and body functions such as breathing, blood pressure, and bladder and bowel control. The higher the injury on the spine and the more nerve fibers damaged, the more of the body is typically affected.

Your spine is a delicate and essential part of your body, and a spinal injury from a crash or fall can upend your entire quality of life. At the Law Offices of Scott Sobol, we have spent more than 20 years helping injured people across South Florida pursue compensation after serious accidents, including spinal cord injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. Understanding how these injuries affect the body can help you address your condition medically and make it easier to pursue legal action against an offending party.

Your Spinal Column Protects Your Nervous System

Your spinal cord is a bundle of nerves and nerve fibers encased by your spinal column, the stack of bones (vertebrae) that make up your spine. It runs from the lower part of the brain down through the lower back and carries messages in both directions: commands from the brain to your muscles and organs, and sensory information from your body back to the brain. NINDS explains that an injury can come from direct damage to the cord itself or from damage to the vertebrae and tissue surrounding it.

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Damage can also unfold in two stages. Primary damage happens at the moment of impact, while secondary damage can develop over the following hours and days from bleeding, swelling, and nerve cell death in the spinal cord. This is one reason emergency responders immobilize the neck and back at the scene when a spinal injury is suspected, and why fast evaluation with imaging such as CT or MRI matters so much.

Complete vs. Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries

Doctors classify spinal cord injuries by how much communication remains across the injury site. With an incomplete injury, the spinal cord can still send some messages to or from the brain, so a person keeps some feeling, function, or muscle control below the injury. With a complete injury, there is no nerve communication below the injury site, and feeling and muscle control below that level are lost.

In the best of cases, a spinal injury may only compress or bruise the nerves, resulting in shorter-term pain and weakness, and NINDS notes that when an injury causes little or no nerve cell death, a person can make an almost complete recovery. Knowing whether an injury is complete or incomplete helps medical teams set realistic rehabilitation goals and helps families plan for the future.

Your Spinal Cord and Bones Control Your Mobility

As mentioned, spinal cord injuries can damage the nerves that allow you to walk, move your arms, or otherwise attend to your day-to-day needs. The level of the injury largely determines which parts of the body are affected. An injury high on the spinal cord can cause paralysis in most of the body and affect all four limbs (tetraplegia, also called quadriplegia), while an injury lower on the cord may affect only the lower body and legs (paraplegia).

Cervical Spine Injuries

The cervical spinal nerves in the neck control signals to the back of the head, the neck and shoulders, the arms and hands, and the diaphragm. Damage to the cervical spine, for example, may make it more difficult for you to hold up your head, and injuries between the C1 and C4 segments can interfere with breathing itself.

Thoracic Spine Injuries

The thoracic spinal nerves in the upper and middle back control signals to the chest muscles, some back muscles, and many organ systems. Injuries at this level often leave arm and hand function intact but can affect trunk stability, balance, and the legs.

Lumbar and Sacral Spine Injuries

The lumbar and sacral nerves in the lower back control signals to the lower abdomen, buttocks, legs, and feet, along with bladder, bowel, and sexual function. Damage to your lumbar spine can make walking painful or even impossible.

How Spinal Cord Injuries Affect Other Body Systems

The effects of a spinal cord injury reach well beyond movement. NINDS identifies a range of complications that often require ongoing treatment and monitoring, including the following:

• Breathing problems: about one-third of people with a spinal cord injury need temporary or permanent help breathing, and pneumonia is a leading concern
• Circulation changes: unstable blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, and a higher risk of blood clots in the legs
• Autonomic dysreflexia: a potentially life-threatening spike in blood pressure that primarily affects people with neck or upper back injuries
• Muscle stiffness and spasticity: exaggerated reflexes and increased muscle tone that may develop over time
• Pressure sores: skin breakdown caused by continuous pressure and reduced blood flow
• Chronic nerve pain: burning or stinging neurogenic pain that can be difficult to treat long term
• Bladder, bowel, and sexual function changes: which may require catheters, dietary changes, and specialist care
• Depression: a common response to the major life changes that follow a serious injury

While you never want to contend with any of these conditions, knowing how a spinal injury can impact your body can help you prepare for life after an accident. You can work with medical professionals to address the reality of your losses and develop a treatment plan aimed at restoring as much of your previous quality of life as possible.

Spinal Cord Injuries and Brain Injuries Often Occur Together

The same violent forces in a car or truck crash that injure the spine can also injure the brain, and doctors often evaluate for both after a serious collision. When memory problems, difficulty concentrating, persistent headaches, or mood changes appear after a crash, a concurrent traumatic brain injury may be the cause, and it deserves its own evaluation. Our articles on whether a traumatic brain injury can occur after a Florida car accident and why traumatic brain injuries are common after truck crashes explain these injuries in more detail.

Some survivors must adjust to life with new limitations even after physical therapy and medical treatment. Documenting every symptom, including cognitive and emotional changes, helps ensure your medical providers, and later an insurance company or jury, see the full picture of how the injury has affected you.

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

NINDS reports that motor vehicle accidents and serious falls are the most common causes of spinal cord injuries in the United States. Other causes include acts of violence, sports injuries, medical or surgical injuries, and industrial or workplace accidents. Many of these incidents happen because another person or business failed to act with reasonable care, such as a distracted driver, a property owner who ignored a hazard, or a company that skipped safety precautions.

Resources for Spinal Cord Injury Survivors in Florida

Florida residents who sustain a moderate to severe traumatic spinal cord injury may be eligible for help through the Florida Department of Health Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program. The program provides case management and can help eligible residents access services such as rehabilitation, assistive technology, and home and vehicle modifications, and it serves as a payor of last resort.

Because this program does not replace compensation from the person who caused your injury, it is often one piece of a larger plan. Keeping thorough medical documentation for your personal injury claim from the start helps connect your diagnosis, treatment, and future care needs to the accident that caused them.

Protect Your Spine From Other People’s Negligence

Unfortunately, it is impossible to control other people’s behavior, and the recklessness or negligence of others can cause spinal injuries that change your entire life. When that happens, Florida law allows you to pursue compensation for medical expenses, future care and rehabilitation, lost income and earning capacity, and pain and suffering.

Our personal injury lawyers are prepared to explore your right to a civil action after a spinal cord injury accident. You or a personal representative can meet with our team to discuss what your case’s value may be. Keep in mind two Florida rules that changed in 2023: most negligence claims must now be filed within two years, and a person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm generally cannot recover damages. You can review Florida’s statute of limitations for injury lawsuits for more detail, since missing the deadline can permanently bar your claim.

We Advocate for Your Access to Personal Injury Law

Spinal injuries can have devastating effects on your quality of life, and you may need an attorney on your side to hold the person who caused your injury accountable. Attorney Scott Sobol has focused exclusively on personal injury law for more than 20 years, has represented more than 1,000 clients and their families, and holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating. Clients speak directly with an attorney from the first conversation, and our firm works on a contingency fee basis.

The Law Offices of Scott Sobol can help you understand your spinal injury and take action against an offending party. To schedule a free consultation and discuss your circumstances, reach out through our contact form.

Frequently Asked Questions About Spinal Cord Injuries