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What is Spinal Cord Impairment?<br />
Spinal cord impairment occurs when<br />
any damage to the spinal cord blocks<br />
communication between your brain and<br />
your body. An injury to the spinal cord, be<br />
it a break, tear, rip or crush that is caused by<br />
physical force is called a traumatic lesion.<br />
This may have resulted from one of the four<br />
common breaks or fractures illustrated on<br />
the facing pages. A spinal cord can also be<br />
damaged through disease such as multiple<br />
sclerosis or from a malignant growth on the<br />
spine.<br />
Your spinal cord injury is related to the nerves<br />
that are damaged but can also be referred to as<br />
your level of bony injury. It is more accurate<br />
however to refer to the actual area of the<br />
spinal cord that is damaged relative to the<br />
vertebra. It is for this reason that your level<br />
of injury may be referred to by two or more<br />
vertebrae ie. C5/C6 Tetraplegia.<br />
“My level of spinal injury,<br />
impairment or lesion is<br />
_________”<br />
“The last thing I remember is getting<br />
back onto the 4-wheeler to turn it round.<br />
We had stopped to admire the view from<br />
the highest point on the Wanganui farm.<br />
It was a hot, sunny February day, and<br />
I didn’t notice, or couldn’t see, the red<br />
light that indicated that I had left the bike<br />
parked in ‘Reverse’. I don’t remember,<br />
but was told later that the bike had set<br />
off backwards and went over a very<br />
steep bluff. Afterwards I was apparently<br />
conscious, but remember nothing except<br />
for some weird dream-like memories<br />
until, two weeks later, I found myself flat<br />
on my back in a little air ambulance.”<br />
Ian Popay T5<br />
© New Zealand Spinal Trust, 2014<br />
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