The degree of neurological impairment due to SCI is usually determined 72 hours following the insult. Patients reach most of their healing capacity by 3 months, and any improvement usually plateaus by 9-12 months (2).

Sequelae or permanent consequences of SCI usually depend on the level of cord injury; where it usually follows the rule “the higher the injury, the worse the outcome”.They also depend on whether the cord was injured totally or partially; and if partially, then which neurological tracts were injured (ex. sensory versus motor versus both). Injuries to the spinal cord can present with a diversity of symptoms, and people with similar injuries could recover differently depending on many factors. However some of the possible long-term consequences of SCI include:

• Loss of body sensation below the level of injury: The side affected depends on the type of sensation (ex. temperature versus positional sensation) as well as degree and level of injury.
• Neuropathic pain: Some people might not totally lose sensation of their bodies; but might experience chronic pain or numbness/tingling sensations. They might also perceive normal sensations abnormally, or feel pain from as little as a light touch.
• Loss of voluntary muscle movements: Depending on the level of the injury this might manifest as paraplegia (loss of lower body movement) or quadriplegia (loss of control over all four limbs).
• Muscle weakness: This is the less severe form of loss of motor function.
• Muscle spasticity: This might exacerbate the present neuropathic pain.
• Bowel and/or bladder dysfunction: People with SCI might develop difficulty in controlling their bowel or bladder movements.
• Breathing problems: In case of higher injuries (i.e. cervical or thoracic injuries)