• Question: what causes someone to be paralised ?

    Asked by qays to Andy on 16 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Andy MacLeod

      Andy MacLeod answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi there qays. Paralysis can be caused in lots of different ways. Sometimes, if people have a bad accident that injures their legs, they won’t be able to use them physically. If someone injures their spine, then the instructions from the brain won’t be able to get through, and while their legs may still be physically OK, the brain can’t get them to move. There are also some genetic diseases that some people are born with which mean that the nerve cells that carry messages from the brain break down over time, so as people get older, they eventually lose the use of their legs, and other parts of their body.

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