Spinal stenosis vs traumatic spinal cord injury: a rehabilitation outcome comparison.

Objective: Nontraumatic spinal cord injury (NT/SCI), which can occur secondary to spinal stenosis, has been shown to represent a significant proportion of individuals admitted for SCI rehabilitation. The objective of this study was to compare demographics and outcomes of patients with spinal stenosis-induced SCI (SS/SCI) with those with traumatic spinal cord injury (T/SCI) following inpatient rehabilitation.

Design: This 7-year prospective review compared 81 patients with SS/SCI and 102 patients with T/SCI admitted to an SCI rehabilitation unit with similar levels and completeness of injury.