Spinal Cord Injuries (Print Version)

Spinal cord injuries usually begin with a blow that fractures or dislocates your vertebrae, the bone disks that make up your spine. Most injuries don't sever your spinal cord. Instead, they cause damage when pieces of vertebrae tear into cord tissue or press down on the nerve parts that carry signals. In a complete spinal cord injury, the cord can't relay messages below the level of the injury. As a result, you are paralyzed below the level of injury. In an incomplete injury, you have some movement and sensation below the injury.

A spinal cord injury is a medical emergency. Immediate treatment can reduce long-term effects. Later treatment usually includes medicine and rehabilitation therapy.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Start Here

Spinal Cord Injury(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/spinalcordinjury/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/spinalcordinjuryspanish/htm/index.htm
Spinal Cord Injury: Hope through Research(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sci/detail_sci.htm
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/trastornos/lesion_de_la_medula_espinal.htm

Overviews

Spinal Cord Injury(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/spinal-cord-injury/DS00460/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Spinal Cord Injury(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sci/sci.htm

Diagnosis/Symptoms

MRI of the Spine(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=spinemr
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=spinemr
Myelogram(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/myelogram/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/myelogramspanish/htm/index.htm

Treatment

Neurosurgery - What Is It?(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/whatisneurosurgery/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/whatisneurosurgeryspanish/htm/index.htm
Spinal Injury: First Aid(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/first-aid-spinal-injury/FA00010/METHOD=print

Prevention/Screening

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI): Prevention Tips(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/sciprevention.htm

Rehabilitation/Recovery

Living with Spinal Cord Injury(American Occupational Therapy Association) - http://www.aota.org/Consumers/Tips/Conditions/SCI/35189.aspx
Restoring Hand Function After Spinal Cord Injury(American Society for Surgery of the Hand, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=317&topcategory=Hand

Coping

Adjustment to Spinal Cord Injury(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=45578

Specific Conditions

Central Cord Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/central_cord/central_cord.htm
Central Pain Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/central_pain/central_pain.htm
Spinal Cord Infarction(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/spinal_infarction/spinal_infarction.htm

Related Issues

Autonomic Dysreflexia - A Possible Life Threatening Situation(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=21426
Bladder Management(University of Washington, Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine) - http://sci.washington.edu/info/pamphlets/bladder.asp
Challenges of Spastic Hypertonia(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=46905
Depression and Spinal Cord Injury(University of Washington, Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine) - http://sci.washington.edu/info/pamphlets/depression_sci.asp
Dressing with Ease, Style and Comfort(ALS Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.alsa.org/files/cms/Resources/FYI_07_Dressing.pdf
Functional Goals Following SCI - Basic(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=30166
Pain After Spinal Cord Injury(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=41119
Rehab Tip Sheets for Providers and Caregivers on Performing Common Activities(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=90249
Taking Care of Pressure Sores(University of Washington, Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine) - http://sci.washington.edu/info/pamphlets/pressure_sores.asp
Taking Care of Your Bowels--The Basics(University of Washington, Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine) - http://sci.washington.edu/info/pamphlets/bowels_1.asp

Tutorials

Myelogram(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/myelogram/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/myelogramspanish/htm/index.htm
Neurosurgery - What Is It?(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/whatisneurosurgery/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/whatisneurosurgeryspanish/htm/index.htm
Spinal Cord Injury(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/spinalcordinjury/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/spinalcordinjuryspanish/htm/index.htm

Anatomy/Physiology

Anatomy of the Spine(National Pain Foundation) - http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/MyTreatment/articles/BackAndNeck_Part_2.asp
Atlas of the Body: The Nervous System -- Groups of Nerves(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/medlib/article/ZZZCLJKBGJC
Life and Death of a Neuron(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/ninds_neuron.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Spinal Cord Injuries(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Spinal+Cord+Injuries%22

Research

Nanotech Treatment Shows Promise against Spinal Cord Injury in Mice(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/news_sci_nanogel_mice.htm
Research for a Cure in Spinal Cord Injury (2005)(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=22508

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Investigation of bias due to loss of participants in a... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19363573&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: A systematic review of the management of autonomic dysreflexia after... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19345787&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Psychologic factors and risk of mortality after spinal cord injury. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19345779&tool=MedlinePlus
Spinal Cord Injuries -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=spinal+cord+injuries[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Directories

Find a Board-Certified Neurosurgeon(American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/findaneuro/
Find a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician(American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) - http://www.e-aapmr.org/imis/imisonline/findphys/find.cfm
Locating Information about SCI (Spinal Cord Injury)(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=21478
Spine Care Provider Search(North American Spine Society) - http://www.spine.org/Pages/ConsumerHealth/SpineCareProviderSearch/Default.aspx

Organizations

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research - http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/
Spinalcord Injury Information Network(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/

Newsletters/Print Publications

Pushin' On Newsletter(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=21396

Statistics

Spinal Cord Injury: Facts and Figures at a Glance -- 2008(University of Alabama at Birmingham) - Links to PDF - http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=116979

Children

Illness and Disability: Spinal Cord Injury(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://www.girlshealth.gov/disability/types/spinal.cfm
Spinal Cord Injury(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1150/mainpageS1150P0.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Paralysis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/paralysis.html
Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
Injuries and Wounds - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/injuriesandwounds.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Spinal Cord Injuries is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/