spinal cord injury, any one of the traumatic disruptions of the spinal cord, often associated with extensive musculoskeletal involvement. Common spinal cord injuries are vertebral fractures and dislocations, such as those commonly suffered by individuals involved in car accidents, airplane crashes, or other violent impacts. Such trauma may cause varying degrees of paraplegia and tetraplegia. Injuries to spinal structures below the first thoracic vertebra may produce paraplegia. Injuries to the spine above the first thoracic vertebra may cause tetraplegia. Injuries that completely transect the spinal cord cause permanent loss of motor and sensory functions activated by neurons below the level of the lesions involved. Spinal cord injuries produce a state of spinal shock, characterized by flaccid paralysis, and complete loss of skin sensation at the time of injury. Within a few weeks the muscles affected may become spastic, and skin sensation may return to a slight degree. The motor and sensory losses that prevail a few weeks after the injury are usually permanent. Musculoskeletal complications are associated with the neurological involvement of spinal cord injuries, and prevention of decubitus ulcers and the treatment of any loss of bladder and bowel control are continuing concerns. Treatment of spinal cord injuries varies considerably and involves numerous approaches, such as orthopedic exercises, ambulatory techniques, and special physical and psychological therapy. See also hemiplegia, paraplegia, quadriplegia.
