With a spinal cord injury (SCI) your spinal cord can be hurt any place from neck to the hips. Just like a telephone wire will stop relaying messages beyond the point it is damaged, in the same way messages from the brain stop passing beyond the injured part.

The area below the injured part of the spinal cord becomes paralyzed with probable loss of sensation and movements. Depending upon the level of injury you could be either a paraplegic or a tetraplegic.