Hyun-Yoon Ko - Handbook of Spinal Cord Injuries and Related Disorders: A Guide to Evaluation and Management

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Spinal cord medicine, which encompasses the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries, has developed remarkably since World War II. Technology for the prevention and treatment of complications that cause death after spinal cord injuries such as cardiopulmonary and urinary complications and pressure injuries associated with spinal cord injuries has also been developed, and mortality and morbidity after the acute phase of spinal cord injury have become almost similar to that of people without spinal cord injury. In addition, it is good news that spinal cord injuries related to traffic accidents and accidents at work are on the decline. However, the lengthening of life expectancy after spinal cord injury over the past 20 years has been in a state of stagnation, and as the health age and lifespan of the general population increase overall, the difference in life expectancy between people with spinal cord injuries and the general population is gradually increasing.

Spinal cord injury is a very devastating event as it can directly or indirectly have negative effects on the person affected by spinal cord injury and their family and friends, including the urinary system, gastrointestinal system, sexuality, and psychosocial problems, as well as motor and sensory functions below the level of injury. Fortunately, however, most patients with spinal cord injuries can improve their quality of life and social participation through personal effort, rehabilitation, and medical assistance through spinal cord medicine. Successful rehabilitation after spinal cord injury can be achieved through a very comprehensive and well-planned effort by physicians and medical personnel involved in spinal cord medicine, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, and psychologists. Despite significant advances in spinal cord medicine, physicians who are not involved in the treatment of patients with spinal cord injuries or who do not specialize in spinal cord medicine may not understand patients medically and may not provide proper primary care. Physicians or primary care providers have to make continuous efforts to be able to appropriately cope with medical situations and emergencies of people with spinal cord injuries.

Various medical problems of people with spinal cord injuries can be solved through a joint effort of internal medicine such as cardiology, respiratory medicine, infections, and endocrinology, neurology, orthopedic surgeon, neurosurgeon, urology, radiology, laboratory medicine, and physiatry. Therefore, physicians involved in spinal cord medicine must learn and acquire knowledge in a wide variety of fields such as functional anatomy, neuroanatomy, neurology, urology, orthopedics, and cardiopulmonary medicine, and strive to apply that knowledge appropriately. Medical infrastructure is required for the successful treatment and rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries. Medical professionals practicing spinal cord medicine should endeavor to disseminate medical knowledge of spinal cord medicine and medico-social movement in order to achieve successful rehabilitation of our patients.

The knowledge of spinal cord medicine has been acquired from the knowledge of various fields mentioned above, and many kinds of specialized books related to spinal cord medicine are introduced. Some books were biased to deal with surgical issues, while others were quotes and descriptions from too many references, making it difficult to easily acquire knowledge about spinal cord injuries. The authors wrote this book with the intention of concisely presenting universal knowledge that can be applied clinically throughout the book, and as a book that can be easily referenced in the medical field. In addition, we have tried to keep up-to-date knowledge while dealing with various issues of spinal cord injury. Hopefully, if this book has an opportunity to lead to another edition in the future, it can make up for the lack of parts. The authors believe that this book can serve as a good reference as it can be easily read by physiatrists involved in the treatment of patients with spinal cord injuries, neurologists, urologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, and neurosurgeons in the medical field of spinal cord medicine.