Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Spinal Cord Trauma

Spinal cord trauma is mechanical injury to the spinal cord that disrupts the conduction of motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the brain and the body, producing neurological deficits below the level of the lesion. It results from compression, contusion, laceration, or transection, most often following fall…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 6 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 3× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2470-5020 🗓 Reviewed June 2026

Overview

Spinal cord trauma is mechanical injury to the spinal cord that disrupts the conduction of motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the brain and the body, producing neurological deficits below the level of the lesion. It results from compression, contusion, laceration, or transection, most often following falls, road traffic collisions, sports injuries, or violence. The clinical picture depends on the level and completeness of the injury: cervical lesions can cause tetraplegia, thoracic and lumbar lesions paraplegia, and the deficit may be complete or incomplete, with recognized patterns reflecting the affected tracts. Pathophysiologically, the initial mechanical insult, the primary injury, is followed by a secondary injury cascade of ischemia, excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis that extends tissue damage over hours to days. Acute management prioritizes spinal immobilization, hemodynamic and respiratory support, prevention of secondary insult, and, where indicated, surgical decompression and stabilization. Common complications include neurogenic shock, autonomic dysreflexia, respiratory compromise, pressure injury, and neuropathic pain. Recovery is constrained by the limited regenerative capacity of central axons, so research emphasizes neuroprotection, modulation of the secondary cascade, rehabilitation to harness residual function and plasticity, and emerging strategies aimed at axonal regeneration and circuit repair, all directed at preserving and restoring function after injury.

Research published in this journal

6 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 6 articles above have been cited 3 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Oct 2025.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Spinal Cord Trauma, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Neurological Research and Therapy (ISSN 2470-5020).

Journal editorial board
Ian J Martins · Australia Giuseppe Lanza · Italy Ion Codreanu · United States

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.