The spinal cord is a conduit within the central nervous system (CNS) that provides ongoing communication between the brain and the rest of the body, conveying complex sensory and motor information necessary for safety, movement, reflexes, and optimization of autonomic function. After a spinal cord injury (SCI), supraspinal influences on the spinal segmental control system and autonomic nervous system (ANS) are disrupted, leading to spastic paralysis, pain and dysesthesia, sympathetic blunting and parasympathetic dominance resulting in cardiac dysrhythmias, systemic hypotension, bronchoconstriction, copious respiratory secretions and uncontrolled bowel, bladder, and sexual dysfunction. This article outlines the pathophysiology of traumatic SCI, current and emerging methods of classification, and its influence on sensory/motor function, and introduces the probable comorbidities associated with SCI that will be discussed in more detail in the accompanying manuscripts of this special issue.

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Pathophysiology, Classification and Comorbidities after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury: A multisystem physiological impairment/dysfunction.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in motor paralysis and sensory loss that places individuals at particularly high risk of pressure injuries. Multiple comorbidities associated with autonomic, cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, neurological, and musculoskeletal dysfunction makes it even more likely that pressure injuries will occur. This manuscript will review the structure and function of the integumentary system, and address the multidisciplinary approach required to prevent and manage pressure injuries in this vulnerable population.

/pdf/pressure-injuries-and-management-after-spinal-cord-injury-21wwmqgc.pdf

Pressure Injuries and Management after Spinal Cord Injury

The autonomic nervous system (ANS), composed of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, acts to maintain homeostasis in the body through autonomic influences on the smooth muscle, cardiac muscles, blood vessels, glands and organs of the body. The parasympathetic nervous system interacts via the cranial and sacral segments of the central nervous system, and the sympathetic nervous system arises from the T1–L2 spinal cord segments. After a spinal cord injury (SCI), supraspinal influence on the ANS is disrupted, leading to sympathetic blunting and parasympathetic dominance resulting in cardiac dysrhythmias, systemic hypotension, bronchoconstriction, copious respiratory secretions and uncontrolled bowel, bladder, and sexual dysfunction. Further, afferent signals to the sympathetic cord elicit unabated reflex sympathetic outflow in response to noxious stimuli below the level of SCI. This article outlines the pathophysiology of SCI on the ANS, clinical ramifications of autonomic dysfunction, and the potential long-term sequelae of these influences following SCI.

/pdf/autonomic-dysfunction-and-management-after-spinal-cord-2pt6ifkq.pdf

Autonomic Dysfunction and Management after Spinal Cord Injury: A Narrative Review

Longitudinal Trends and Prevalence of Bowel Management in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury

Management of Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction in Adults after Spinal Cord Injury: Clinical Practice Guideline for Health Care Providers.

Management of Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction in Adults after Spinal Cord Injury Suggested citation: Jeffery Johns, Klaus Krogh, Gianna M. Rodriguez, Janice Eng, Emily Haller, Malorie Heinen, Rafferty Laredo, Walter Longo, Wilda Montero-Colon, Mark Korsten. Management of Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction in Adults after Spinal Cord Injury: Clinical Practice Guideline for Healthcare Providers. Journal of Spinal Cord Med. 2021. Doi:10.1080/10790268.2021.1883385

Rafferty Laredo

Papers

Management of Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction in Adults after Spinal Cord Injury: Clinical Practice Guideline for Health Care Providers.