What are the early symptoms of spinal cord injury?
Authors: SCIRE Community Team | Reviewer: Arlene Aspinall and Tova Plashkes | Published: 17 February 2017 | Updated: ~
Spinal cord injury affects a wide range of different body systems and can affect the body very differently from one person to the next. The earliest period after an SCI often involves a phase of shock. This is usually a temporary period that resolves after a few days or weeks.
Early symptoms of spinal cord injury
Spinal shock happens right after injury and causes the muscles below the injury to be floppy and unmoving, which is called flaccid paralysis. This happens because the spinal reflexes below the injury are temporarily impaired in response to the injury. Spinal shock often happens together with neurogenic shock.
Neurogenic shock is when low blood pressure, slow heart rate, and low body temperature happen early after SCI because of how the injury affects the autonomic nervous system. Neurogenic shock typically affects people with cervical or upper thoracic injuries. If severe and untreated, neurogenic shock can be life-threatening.
Spinal cord injury symptoms
After shock resolves, longer-lasting spinal cord injury symptoms may be experienced. These symptoms are different for everyone and may be temporary or permanent.
- Loss of sensation or abnormal sensations (such as tingling, numbness, or pain) below the SCI
- Loss of muscle strength below the SCI, including both paralysis (complete loss of movement) and weakness
- Muscle spasms, involuntary jerking movements, and overactive reflexes below the SCI (spasticity)
- Loss of bladder and bowel control
- Changes to blood pressure and heart rate control, including autonomic dysreflexia
- Changes to breathing and coughing ability
- Changes to sexual and reproductive functions
