A spinal cord injury (SCI) is a spinal cord injury that causes its function in temporary or permanent changes. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or degree of injury below the spinal cord by the body of parts of the independent function. An injury can occur at any level of the cord. Depending on the location and severity of damage, symptoms vary, from numbness to paralysis to incontinence. Long-term results also vary widely, from complete recovery to permanent quadriplegia (also called quadriplegia) or paraplegia. Complications can include muscle wasting, bedsores, infections, and breathing problems.

In most of the cases, the damage results from physical trauma such as car accidents, gunshot wounds, falls or sports injuries, but it can also result from non-traumatic causes such as infection, blood flow and tumors. Slightly more than half of the injuries affect the cervical spine, while 15% occur in each of the thoracic vertebrae, and on the border between the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the lumbar spine alone. Diagnosis is largely based on symptoms and medical imagery