What causes spinal cord injury?

Author: SCIRE Community Team | Reviewers: Shannon Sproule , Tova Plashkes , Amrit Dhaliwal | Published: 17 February 2017 | Updated: 26 March 2024

SCI can have many causes, which are commonly divided into traumatic or non-traumatic causes.

Traumatic spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that is caused by direct trauma from an outside force. This is usually caused by a sudden blow to the spine (such as something falling on the spine), compression of the spine (from the force of a car of a car accident, for example) or a penetrating injury (such as a gunshot wound).

A broken spinal bone (vertebra) in the neck causes pieces of bone or tissue to move out of place, damaging the fragile nearby spinal cord.²

A forceful blow or compression of the spine can cause the spinal bones (vertebrae) or other tissues (such as the gel-like discs between the vertebrae) to break and/or dislocate. The spinal cord is located within the hollow center of the spine, so if pieces of bone or tissue move out of place and pressure and or excessive swelling take place they can put pressure on, tear, or otherwise damage the fragile spinal cord.

Although a large force is usually needed to damage the spine, smaller forces can also cause traumatic injuries in people with certain medical conditions. For example, people with osteoporosis have weak bones that can break from lesser forces, such as a fall from a standing position.

Non-traumatic spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that is caused by anything other than direct trauma. This includes complications from an illness, degeneration of the spine from arthritis, or certain conditions that people are born with (like spina bifida). Non-traumatic injuries often develop gradually over time, compared to the sudden onset of traumatic injuries.

Read our article on Non-traumatic SCI for more information (coming soon)!