Despite recent advances in supportive care for spinal cord injury (SCI), there is a great need for treatments that can improve the neurological outcome. After SCI, there is essentially no regrowth of axons beyond the point of the lesion, leaving intact, although non-functional, circuits below the site of injury. We discuss the potential for functional re¬covery from SCI by using nanomaterials to restore these dysfunctional circuits through a combination of artificial connections and devices to help stimulate motor and sensory recovery