Symptoms of Spinal cord injury

List of symptoms of Spinal cord injury:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Spinal cord injury includes the 11 symptoms listed below:

• Paralysis
• Loss of sensation
• Loss of reflex function
• Loss of autonomic activity
• Breathing difficulty
• Loss of bowel control
• Loss of bladder control
• Pain
• Sensitivity to stimuli
• Muscle spasms
• Sexual dysfunction

Note that Spinal cord injury symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Spinal cord injury signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Spinal cord injury

Do I have Spinal cord injury?

• Spinal cord injury: Introduction
• Spinal cord injury: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Spinal cord injury
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Spinal cord injury
• More about Spinal cord injury

Wrongly Diagnosed with Spinal cord injury?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Spinal cord injury includes:

• Respiratory failure

See the full list of 1 alternative diagnoses for Spinal cord injury

More about symptoms of Spinal cord injury:

More information about symptoms of Spinal cord injury and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Spinal cord injury
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Spinal cord injury
• Underlying causes of Spinal cord injury
• Risk factors for Spinal cord injury

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Breathing difficulty - see all causes of Breathing difficulties
• Loss of autonomic activity - see all causes of Autonomic nerve symptoms
• Loss of bladder control - see all causes of Urinary incontinence
• Loss of bowel control - see all causes of Bowel incontinence
• Loss of reflex function - see all causes of Reflex symptoms
• Loss of sensation - see all causes of Numbness
• Muscle spasms - see all causes of Muscle spasms
• Pain - see all causes of Pain
• Paralysis - see all causes of Paralysis symptoms
• Sensitivity to stimuli - see all causes of Hypersensitive
• Sexual dysfunction - see all causes of Sexual dysfunction

Medical Books Online about Spinal cord injury

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Spinal cord injury are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Spinal cord injury.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Spinal cord injury: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Spinal cord injury.

Spinal injuries: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The most obvious symptoms of spinal injury are muscle spasm and back pain that worsen with movement. In cervical fractures, pain may produce point tenderness; in dorsal and lumbar fractures, it may radiate to other body areas such as the legs. After mild injuries, symptoms may be delayed for several days or weeks. If the injury damages the spinal cord, clinical effects range from mild paresthesia to quadriplegia and shock.

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Spinal cord defects: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Indications vary depending on the type of defect.

Spina bifida occulta

Although overt signs may be absent, spina bifida occulta is often accompanied by a depression or dimple, tuft of hair, soft fatty deposits, port wine nevi, or a combination of these abnormalities on the skin over the spinal defect.

Spina bifida occulta doesn’t usually cause neurologic dysfunction but occasionally is associated with foot weakness or bowel and bladder disturbances. Such disturbances are especially likely during rapid growth phases, when the spinal cord’s ascent within the vertebral column may be impaired by its abnormal adherence to other tissues.

Meningocele and myelomeningocele

A saclike structure protrudes over the spine in both meningocele and myelo-meningocele.

Like spina bifida occulta, meningocele rarely causes neurologic deficit. But myelomeningocele, depending on the level of the defect, causes permanent neurologic dysfunction, such as flaccid or spastic paralysis and bowel and bladder incontinence.

Associated disorders include trophic skin disturbances (ulcerations, cyan-osis), clubfoot, knee contractures, and hydrocephalus (in about 90% of patients). Mental retardation, Arnold-Chiari syndrome (in which part of the brain protrudes into the spinal canal), and curvature of the spine can also occur.

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Spinal injuries: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

The most obvious symptom of spinal injury is muscle spasm and back pain that worsens with movement. In cervical fractures, pain may produce point tenderness; in dorsal and lumbar fractures, it may radiate to other body areas such as the legs.

If the injury damages the spinal cord, clinical effects range from mild paresthesia to quadriplegia and shock. After milder injuries, such symptoms may be delayed for several days or weeks. During this time, the patient may unknowingly aggravate the condition

CLINICAL TIP: Because the diaphragm is innervated by cervical levels 1 to 4, damage to this level will result in respiratory compromise. Also, be aware of edema at levels C5 to C7, which may expand up into these areas, resulting in problems.

Complications

The following are complications of spinal injuries: autonomic dysreflexia, spinal shock, and neurogenic shock.

Also known as autonomic hyperreflexia, autonomic dysreflexia is a serious medical condition that occurs after resolution of spinal shock. Emergency recognition and management is a must. Suspect autonomic dysreflexia in the patient with a history of spinal cord trauma at level T6 and above who exhibits cold or goose-fleshed skin below the lesion level, bradycardia, and hypertension. The hypertension is generally accompanied by severe, pounding headache.

Some dysreflexia is caused by noxious stimuli, most commonly a distended bladder or skin lesion. Treatment focuses on eliminating the stimulus; rapid identification and removal may avoid the need for pharmacologic control of the headache and hypertension.

Spinal shock is the loss of autonomic, reflex, motor, and sensory activity below the level of the cord lesion. It occurs secondary to damage of the spinal cord. Signs of spinal shock include flaccid paralysis, loss of deep tendon and perianal reflexes, and loss of motor and sensory function.

Until spinal shock has resolved (usually 1 to 6 weeks after injury), the extent of actual cord damage can’t be assessed. The earliest indicator of spinal shock resolution is the return of reflex activity.

This temporary loss of autonomic function below the level of injury produces cardiovascular changes. Signs of neurogenic shock include orthostatic hypotension, bradycardia, and loss of the ability to sweat below the level of the lesion. This abnormal vasomotor response occurs secondary to disruption of sympathetic impulses from the brain stem to the thoracolumbar area and is seen most commonly in cervical cord injury.

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Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Spinal cord injury:

Severe SCI often causes paralysis (loss of control over voluntary movement and muscles of the body) and loss of sensation and reflex function below the point of injury, including autonomic activity such as breathing and other activities such as bowel and bladder control. Other symptoms such as pain or sensitivity to stimuli, muscle spasms, and sexual dysfunction may develop over time. SCI patients are also prone to develop secondary medical problems, such as bladder infections, lung infections, and bed sores. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Spinal Cord Injury Information Page: NINDS)

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Spinal cord injury
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Spinal cord injury
• How serious is Spinal cord injury?
• More about Spinal cord injury
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Spinal cord injury:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Spinal cord injury. This signs and symptoms information for Spinal cord injury has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Spinal cord injury signs or Spinal cord injury symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Spinal cord injury may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Spinal cord injury symptoms.