Spinal cord trauma is a common. It may result from direct injury to the spinal cord itself or indirectly from damage to surrounding bones and tissues. Direct damage can also occur if the spinal cord is pulled, pressed sideways or compressed. This may occur if the head, neck, or back are twisted abnormally during an accident or injury.

 

Spinal cord trauma can be caused by many ways like motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports injuries, industrial accidents, gunshot wounds and other causes. Direct injury, such as cuts, can occur to the spinal cord, particularly if the bones or the disks have been damaged. Fragments of bone (for example, from broken vertebrae, which are the spine bones) or fragments of metal such as from a gunshot can cut or damage the spinal cord.

 

Symptoms vary and it depends on the location of the injury. Spinal cord injury causes weakness and sensory loss at and below the point of the injury. The severity of symptoms depends on whether the entire cord is severely injured or partially injured. The spinal cord doesn’t go below the 1st lumbar vertebra, so injuries below this level do not cause spinal cord injury. The symptoms may occur on one or both sides of the body.

 

A spinal cord trauma is a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment to reduce the long-term ill effects. The time between the injury and treatment is a critical factor affecting the eventual outcome.