OWL: OCOSH Classification/Trauma/Spinal Cord Injuries/Partial/Central Cord Syndrome

Central Cord Syndrome

C.R.Wheeless — 2002-02-04 21:06:32 GMT

most common incomplete cord lesion
- frequently associated w/ extension injury to osteoarthritic spine (cervical spondylosis) in middle aged person who sustains hyperextension injury;
- cord is injured in central gray matter, & results in proportionally greater loss of motor function to upper extremities than lower extremities w/ variable sensory sparing;

Central Cord Syndrome eMedicine PMR

Michelle J Alpert, MD — 2008-04-13 21:06:32 GMT

Central cord syndrome (CCS), an acute cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), was initially described by Schneider and colleagues in 1954. It is marked by a disproportionately greater impairment of motor function in the upper extremities than in the lower ones, as well as by bladder dysfunction and a variable amount of sensory loss below the level of injury.1, 2 Although CCS has been reported to occur more frequently among older persons with cervical spondylosis who sustain hyperextension injury, it can be found in persons of any age and can be associated with various etiologies, injury mechanisms, and predisposing factors.2 CCS is the most common incomplete SCI syndrome.
Synonyms and related keywords: cervical central cord syndrome, cervical CCS, CCS, cervical spinal cord injury, SCI, spinal cord injury, cord trauma, spinal cord trauma
Michelle J Alpert, MD 2007

Central cord syndrome Orthopaedia

Not Available — 2009-07-12 21:06:32 GMT

Spinal cord injuries span the spectrum from the devastating complete paralysis to inconsequential sensory pathology. There are approximately 200,000 to 230,000 people with spinal cord injuries in the United States at any given moment. Motor vehicle accidents account for the vast majority new spinal cord injuries of these producing nearly half of these. The average age of a patient with a new onset spinal cord injury ranges between 28 and 36 years old. On the other hand, the patients that experience a spinal cord injury due to a fall are generally an elderly person with underlying cervical spine pathology such as stenosis.
Hence, a classic Hemi-Cord Syndrome, therefore, will produce ipsilateral motor paralysis and ipsilateral loss of proprioception and two point discrimination, with contralateral loss of pain, temperature and crude touch.