Causes of spinal shock
Disease description:
Recently, I've been having some discomfort in my cervical spine. After a hospital examination, the doctor diagnosed it as spinal shock. I would like to know what causes spinal shock?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Wang Mingxuan
The cause of spinal shock is that the severed segment of the spinal cord loses regulation from higher central centers, particularly the facilitatory influences from the cerebral cortex, vestibular nuclei, and reticular formation of the brainstem. As a result of spinal transection, the excitability of spinal neurons temporarily decreases due to the loss of this facilitation, manifesting as spinal shock. Additionally, the brain normally interacts with anterior horn cells of the spinal cord via cortical structures and the corticospinal tract; in acute injury, this neural circuitry fails to recover promptly, contributing to the condition.
