Abstract
The terms “spinal shock” and “neurogenic shock” are often both inappropriately or incorrectly used or confused with one another in the clinical setting. Although neurogenic shock refers to a hemodynamic pattern, spinal shock refers to the neurologic examination results that may be seen after an acute spinal cord injury. After an acute onset of spinal cord injury, there is a sudden loss of reflexes and muscle tone below the level of injury known as spinal shock. The term “spinal shock” was first introduced in 1840 by Marshall Hall, which suddenly showed a decrease in muscular irritability and no reflexes in a spinal paralysis. Spinal shock is pronounced only in primates, especially in humans, due to such a dominance of an inhibitory mechanism in the spinal cord. In general, the more severe the physiologic or anatomic transection of the spinal cord, the more profound the spinal shock. Spinal shock does not occur with slowly developing spinal cord diseases or injuries. The pattern of natural course following a spinal cord injury distinguishes between sudden onset and slow changes in the spinal cord. In the next days and weeks, motor reactions to external stimuli gradually reappear systematically. The definition of spinal shock and the pattern of reflex recovery or evolution and muscle tone recovery remain issues of debate and controversy. The lack of consensus on the clinical symptomatology defining the duration of spinal shock persists.
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Ko, HY., Huh, S. (2021). Spinal Shock: Definition and Clinical Implications. In: Handbook of Spinal Cord Injuries and Related Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3679-0_9
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