Acute spinal trauma

Injuries to the spinal column and spinal cord are a major cause of disability, affecting predominately young, healthy individuals. The majority of the spinal injuries (60%) affect young healthy males between 15 and 35 years of age, with important socioeconomic consequences, and the costs of lifetime care and rehabilitation are extremely high. As the longevity of the general population increases, there has been a concordant increase in the mean age of the typical spinal cord injury patient. The main cause for spinal injuries is blunt trauma, most commonly due to motor vehicle accidents (48%), followed by falls (21%) and sport injuries (14.6%). Assault and penetrating trauma account for approximately 10–20% of cases