The most common causes of spinal cord injuries are traffic accidents and serious falls. The highest occurrence is in younger people around the age of 35 years.
Traumatic spinal cord injury leads to mechanical lesions of nerve cells and dissection or compression of nerve fibers. In consequence, lesioned neurons die and glial scars prevent regeneration. Depending on the location and extent of the lesion, patients are para- (plegia of arms or legs) or tetraplegic (plegia of all four extremities).
Contemporary therapy is restricted to medication reducing inflammatory processes and surgical interventions stabilizing the current state. Physical therapy can provide some compensation for the loss of motor function, but there is no therapy stopping the neuronal cell death and stimulating plasticity.