Care for Spinal Cord Trauma

Spinal cord and spine trauma is an injury caused by energy, such as a collision, fall, diving accident, or violence. It is not the same as a degenerative herniated disc or a tumor. In Mexico City, at the accident scene, the priority is not to move the person and to call emergency services. Subsequent surgery may stabilize the bone and relieve compression; it cannot restore a severed spinal cord.

Don’t sit them up to straighten their back, and don’t put them in a private car if they have neck pain and can’t move their legs. Don’t pull their helmet off. Call 911 and wait for someone who can immobilize them. Every extra bend could worsen an incomplete injury. If they are not breathing, follow the emergency services’ instructions for resuscitation first: a high cervical spinal cord injury can also affect the diaphragm.

These include traffic accidents, falls from a height, sports-related blows, and penetrating injuries. Disc degeneration and metastasis are not included on this page: those forms of compression are evaluated through another pathway and may sometimes also be urgent if the sphincters fail, but they are not trauma. Within trauma, the injury may affect only the bones, with the spinal cord intact, or involve a complete or incomplete spinal cord injury. “Complete” means there is no function below the level on the examination performed at the hospital; it is not a label assigned on the sidewalk.

The person is immobilized, checked for other bleeding—spinal trauma rarely occurs alone—and undergoes a CT scan of the spine. An MRI shows the spinal cord, ligaments, and an epidural hematoma when a CT scan is not sufficient. The level (neck, chest, or lower back) affects the outlook for the arms, breathing, and bladder function. Serial exams matter more than a single snapshot: the deficit sometimes worsens in the first few hours because of swelling.

If a bone fragment or a ruptured disc is compressing the spinal cord, decompression and spinal stabilization aim to create space and prevent the bone from moving. This may help people who still have function and may prevent deformity and pain in those who do not. No technique can repair a severed spinal cord. Rehabilitation, skin and bladder care, and prevention of blood clots matter as much as the screws. Promising that someone “will walk again” is false; saying that “there is never any recovery” is also false when the injury is incomplete.

If they can move one toe, are they out of danger? It is a favorable sign, not a discharge. Function may fluctuate, and the exam needs to be repeated.

Can corticosteroids restore spinal cord function? They are not a cure, and their use is limited; they are not prescribed at home or through this page.

When do we talk about a wheelchair? As the examination and the passage of time clarify the situation, together with the rehabilitation team. Something said in the middle of the night after an accident is not the final plan.

After discharge, if you need to review hardware, pain, or a change in a deficit, write to +52 55 2193 8191 and have your imaging handy. At the time of the accident, the response is 911 and not moving the person. This page does not replace emergency care.