Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
A spinal lesion describes any area of abnormal tissue on the spinal cord, whether it isbenign(non-cancerous) ormalignant(cancerous). Also known as a central lesion because of its impact on thecentral nervous system, spinal lesions have many different causes and, depending on their location, can cause different neurological (nerve-related) symptoms.
This article looks at the possible symptoms and causes of spinal lesions and provides an overview of how spinal lesions are commonly diagnosed and treated.
Dolgachov / Getty Images
Symptoms of Spinal Lesions
Spinal lesions can cause different symptoms depending on their location on the spinal cord as well as the lesion type and cause.
There may be problems with motor skills and abilities. Some people experience chronic pain, while others may have a loss of certain bodily functions due to the blockage or interruption of nerve signals.
Among the possible symptoms of a spinal cord lesion are:
Causes of Spinal Lesions
Trauma
All sorts of traumaticspinal cord injuriescan result in spinal lesions. Most traumatic spinal cord lesions happen as a result of:
Depending on the severity of a spinal trauma, effects can range from vertebral (bone) pain to severe neurological lesions, such as tetraplegia (paralysis of all four limbs), or paraplegia (paralysis of the legs).
About 70% of spinal traumas in children, and 35% in adults, involve injuries to the seven vertebrae in the neck, a region known as thecervical spine.
Infections
Several kinds of spinal infections can result in spinal lesions:
Benign Tumors
Types of spinal tumors that are usually benign include:
Many benign tumors are slow growing and may not cause any symptoms for years.
Cancer
Most malignant spinal tumors aremetastatic, meaning that the cancer started in a different area of the body before spreading to the spine.But malignant spinal tumors can also develop in the spine first. These are called primary spinal tumors.
Types of malignant spinal tumors include:
Tumors that grow large enough can result in spinal misalignments and deformities.
Chronic Disease
Several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases can result in spinal lesions, including:
Vascular Disorders
The term vascular refers to blood vessels. Vascular disorders cause abnormalities in blood vessels that can form spinal cord lesions. Such vascular disorders include:
Congenital Malformations
Many people are born with spinal malformations, such as an extra lumbar vertebrae. In many cases, these congenital conditions do not cause symptoms.
Congenital malformations that cause spinal lesions include:
Anatomy of the Spinal Nerves
Diagnosing Spinal Lesions
The diagnosis of a spinal lesion typically begins when a lesion is spotted on an X-ray or other imaging test. In addition to a physical exam and a review of your medical history, a neurological exam will be performed to check for any abnormalities in your reflexes, sensations, strength, and coordination.
Based on the findings, other tests may be performed to narrow the possible causes. These may include:
Treating Spinal Lesions
Physical therapy may be able to help restore function after treatment and initial recovery.
Physical Therapy for Chronic Pain
Summary
21 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Spinal cord injury.World Health Organization.Spinal cord injury.da Silva AJF, Lopes F, Mendes W.Multiple-level cervical spine trauma in children: Case report and literature review.Trauma Case Rep. 2020 Jun;27(1):100298. doi:10.1016/j.tcr.2020.100298Kavanaugh N, Ryan E, Widaa A, et al.Staphylococcal osteomyelitis: Disease progression, treatment challenges, and future directions.Clin Microbiol Rev. 2018 Apr;31(2):e00084-17. doi:10.1128/CMR.00084-17Landi A, Grasso G, Laiani G, et al.Spontaneous spinal discitis and spondylodiscitis: Clinicotherapeutic remarks.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2017 Dec;8(4):642–646. doi:10.4103/jnrp.jnrp_67_17Johns Hopkins Medicine.Epidural abscess.Thurnher M, Olatunji R.Infections of the spine and spinal cord. In:Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 2016;136(1):717-731. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53486-6.00035-1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.Mount Sinai.Spinal cord abscess.NYU Langone.Types of spinal cord tumors.Columbia.Spinal tumors.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Spinal cancer and spinal tumors.Giraldo G, Garcia J.Immune-mediated disorders affecting the spinal cord and the spine.Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2021 Jan;21(1):3. doi:10.1007/s11910-020-01088-6Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous malformations.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous fistula (AVF).Mount Sinai.Cavernomas.Tenorio A, Holmes B, Abla A, Amans M, Meisel K.An isolated ruptured spinal aneurysm presents with a thalamic infarct: Case report.BMC Neurol. 2021;21(1):52. doi:10.1186/s12883-021-02055-5UC Davis Health.Congenital spine abnormalities.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Myelogram.MedlinePlus.Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis.University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences.Tumor resection surgery.
21 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Spinal cord injury.World Health Organization.Spinal cord injury.da Silva AJF, Lopes F, Mendes W.Multiple-level cervical spine trauma in children: Case report and literature review.Trauma Case Rep. 2020 Jun;27(1):100298. doi:10.1016/j.tcr.2020.100298Kavanaugh N, Ryan E, Widaa A, et al.Staphylococcal osteomyelitis: Disease progression, treatment challenges, and future directions.Clin Microbiol Rev. 2018 Apr;31(2):e00084-17. doi:10.1128/CMR.00084-17Landi A, Grasso G, Laiani G, et al.Spontaneous spinal discitis and spondylodiscitis: Clinicotherapeutic remarks.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2017 Dec;8(4):642–646. doi:10.4103/jnrp.jnrp_67_17Johns Hopkins Medicine.Epidural abscess.Thurnher M, Olatunji R.Infections of the spine and spinal cord. In:Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 2016;136(1):717-731. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53486-6.00035-1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.Mount Sinai.Spinal cord abscess.NYU Langone.Types of spinal cord tumors.Columbia.Spinal tumors.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Spinal cancer and spinal tumors.Giraldo G, Garcia J.Immune-mediated disorders affecting the spinal cord and the spine.Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2021 Jan;21(1):3. doi:10.1007/s11910-020-01088-6Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous malformations.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous fistula (AVF).Mount Sinai.Cavernomas.Tenorio A, Holmes B, Abla A, Amans M, Meisel K.An isolated ruptured spinal aneurysm presents with a thalamic infarct: Case report.BMC Neurol. 2021;21(1):52. doi:10.1186/s12883-021-02055-5UC Davis Health.Congenital spine abnormalities.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Myelogram.MedlinePlus.Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis.University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences.Tumor resection surgery.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Spinal cord injury.World Health Organization.Spinal cord injury.da Silva AJF, Lopes F, Mendes W.Multiple-level cervical spine trauma in children: Case report and literature review.Trauma Case Rep. 2020 Jun;27(1):100298. doi:10.1016/j.tcr.2020.100298Kavanaugh N, Ryan E, Widaa A, et al.Staphylococcal osteomyelitis: Disease progression, treatment challenges, and future directions.Clin Microbiol Rev. 2018 Apr;31(2):e00084-17. doi:10.1128/CMR.00084-17Landi A, Grasso G, Laiani G, et al.Spontaneous spinal discitis and spondylodiscitis: Clinicotherapeutic remarks.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2017 Dec;8(4):642–646. doi:10.4103/jnrp.jnrp_67_17Johns Hopkins Medicine.Epidural abscess.Thurnher M, Olatunji R.Infections of the spine and spinal cord. In:Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 2016;136(1):717-731. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53486-6.00035-1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.Mount Sinai.Spinal cord abscess.NYU Langone.Types of spinal cord tumors.Columbia.Spinal tumors.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Spinal cancer and spinal tumors.Giraldo G, Garcia J.Immune-mediated disorders affecting the spinal cord and the spine.Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2021 Jan;21(1):3. doi:10.1007/s11910-020-01088-6Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous malformations.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous fistula (AVF).Mount Sinai.Cavernomas.Tenorio A, Holmes B, Abla A, Amans M, Meisel K.An isolated ruptured spinal aneurysm presents with a thalamic infarct: Case report.BMC Neurol. 2021;21(1):52. doi:10.1186/s12883-021-02055-5UC Davis Health.Congenital spine abnormalities.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Myelogram.MedlinePlus.Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis.University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences.Tumor resection surgery.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Spinal cord injury.
World Health Organization.Spinal cord injury.
da Silva AJF, Lopes F, Mendes W.Multiple-level cervical spine trauma in children: Case report and literature review.Trauma Case Rep. 2020 Jun;27(1):100298. doi:10.1016/j.tcr.2020.100298
Kavanaugh N, Ryan E, Widaa A, et al.Staphylococcal osteomyelitis: Disease progression, treatment challenges, and future directions.Clin Microbiol Rev. 2018 Apr;31(2):e00084-17. doi:10.1128/CMR.00084-17
Landi A, Grasso G, Laiani G, et al.Spontaneous spinal discitis and spondylodiscitis: Clinicotherapeutic remarks.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2017 Dec;8(4):642–646. doi:10.4103/jnrp.jnrp_67_17
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Epidural abscess.
Thurnher M, Olatunji R.Infections of the spine and spinal cord. In:Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 2016;136(1):717-731. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53486-6.00035-1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.
Mount Sinai.Spinal cord abscess.
NYU Langone.Types of spinal cord tumors.
Columbia.Spinal tumors.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Spinal cancer and spinal tumors.
Giraldo G, Garcia J.Immune-mediated disorders affecting the spinal cord and the spine.Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2021 Jan;21(1):3. doi:10.1007/s11910-020-01088-6
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous malformations.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arteriovenous fistula (AVF).
Mount Sinai.Cavernomas.
Tenorio A, Holmes B, Abla A, Amans M, Meisel K.An isolated ruptured spinal aneurysm presents with a thalamic infarct: Case report.BMC Neurol. 2021;21(1):52. doi:10.1186/s12883-021-02055-5
UC Davis Health.Congenital spine abnormalities.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Myelogram.
MedlinePlus.Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis.
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences.Tumor resection surgery.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
