Spinal shock is characterized by what?

Spinal shock is characterized by what?

• A. Absence of all voluntary and reflex activity below the level of injury
• B. Immediate spasticity
• C. Hyperreflexia below injury
• D. Normal motor function

Answer: (A)

Spinal shock is a transient phase after a spinal cord injury during which there is a loss of all voluntary and reflex activity below the level of injury. In this period, the muscles are flaccid and reflexes are absent because the injury disrupts the transmission of signals both to and from the spinal cord, effectively silencing the reflex pathways. This profound suppression can last from days to weeks, and autonomic functions below the injury can be affected as well. As the spinal cord begins to recover from the initial insult, reflex activity can gradually return. When that happens, you may see a shift toward increased reflex responses and sometimes spasticity, which is why the presence of immediate spasticity or hyperreflexia below the injury isn’t characteristic of spinal shock itself. Normal motor function is not typical in the acute phase, since voluntary movement below the lesion is lost during spinal shock.

Spinal shock is a transient phase after a spinal cord injury during which there is a loss of all voluntary and reflex activity below the level of injury. In this period, the muscles are flaccid and reflexes are absent because the injury disrupts the transmission of signals both to and from the spinal cord, effectively silencing the reflex pathways. This profound suppression can last from days to weeks, and autonomic functions below the injury can be affected as well.

As the spinal cord begins to recover from the initial insult, reflex activity can gradually return. When that happens, you may see a shift toward increased reflex responses and sometimes spasticity, which is why the presence of immediate spasticity or hyperreflexia below the injury isn’t characteristic of spinal shock itself. Normal motor function is not typical in the acute phase, since voluntary movement below the lesion is lost during spinal shock.