Spinal cord injury

Question 1

3 causes of traumatic spinal cord injury

Answer 1

Destruction: Direct trauma
Compression: hematoma, bony fragments
Ischemic: damage or impingement to a spinal artery

Question 2

Causes of non-traumatic SCI

Answer 2

• Tumor
• Viral infection
• Degenerative disk
• Inflammation of the spinal cord
• Congenital/developmental abnormalities

Question 3

Types of SCI

Answer 3

Complete:
Complete loss of function below the level of lesion, this includes no Motor or sensory feedback as well as autonomic dysreflexia

Incomplete: 
Some neural activity below the level of injury and there are 4 types: 
1. Central cord syndrome 
2. Anterior cord syndrome 
3. Brown-squared 
4. Posterior cord syndrome

Question 4

What is autonomic dysriflexia and its symptoms?

Answer 4

The uninhabited sympathetic nervous system response to a noxious stimulus in people with SCI T6 and above

Symptoms

• Increased blood pressure
• Pounding headache
• bradycardia
• hot and sweaty above the level of injury
• cold and goosebumps below the level of injury

Question 5

Types of incomplete SCI and their symptoms

Answer 5

Central spinal cord syndrome

• UL motor loss
• Bladder dysfunction
• Loss of corticospinal and spinothalamic tracts

Anterior cord syndrome

• Motor loss
• Loss of temp and pain
• Keep vibration and proprioception

Brown-squared

• motor loss on the same side of the lesion
• vibration and touch the same side of the lesion
• pain and temp opposite

Posterior cord syndrome
- Mainly sensory symptoms