Paraplegia – Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment

Paraplegia, sometimes called partial paralysis, is a form of paralysis in which function is substantially impeded from below the level of injury. Most people with paraplegia (often referred to as paraplegics) have perfectly healthy legs. Instead, the problem resides in either their brain or spinal cord, which cannot send or receive signals to the lower body due to an injury or disease.

Like other forms of paralysis, paraplegia symptoms can vary significantly from one person to the next. While the stereotype of a paraplegic is of someone in a wheelchair who cannot move his or her arms or legs, cannot feel anything below the level of injury, and cannot walk, paraplegics actually have a range of capabilities that may change over time, both as their health evolves and their physical therapy helps them learn to work around their injuries.