Controversies in the Management of Central Cord Syndrome: The State of the Art

Traumatic central cord syndrome (CCS) is an acute spinal cord injury that was first reported, as far as we know, by Schneider et al. in 19541. That early case series described a syndrome of disproportionate motor weakness of the upper limbs compared with the lower limbs, bladder dysfunction (urinary retention), and variable sensory changes1. In general, this type of spinal cord injury occurs through 1 of 3 possible scenarios: (1) preexisting cervical spondylosis and stenosis, (2) traumatic cervical fractures or dislocations, or (3) acute cervical disc herniation2. Currently, traumatic CCS remains the most commonly encountered incomplete spinal cord injury3.