RT Book, Section A1 Vernese, Lauren A1 Kessler, Allison A1 McCormick, Kristen A1 Spendley, James A1 Anschel, Alan A2 Mitra, Raj SR Print(0) ID 1162855761 T1 Traumatic Myelopathy T2 Principles of Rehabilitation Medicine YR 2019 FD 2019 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071793339 LK accessphysiotherapy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1162855761 RD 2024/03/28 AB Spinal cord injury (SCI), or traumatic myelopathy, was first described around 2500 BC by ancient Egyptians, as written in the ancient Egyptian medical text the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus. The textbook referenced six cases of spinal canal injury, with one case referencing paralysis of the extremities, bladder incontinence, abdominal distention, and priapism.1–4 Subsequently, Hippocrates is often credited with first describing traction for the reduction of spinal fractures with resultant spinal cord injuries, as well as describing chronic paralysis, constipation, bladder difficulty, venous stasis, and pressure injury resulting from spinal injury.1,2,4 Despite a long history of knowledge, most patients with SCIs died within a few weeks, usually from urosepsis, prior to the 1940s.2 It wasn't until the end of World War II that management began to be standardized. SCI patients were treated in specialized units with multidisciplinary programs dedicated to treatment and rehabilitation of paralysis.2,4 Sir Ludwig Guttman of the United Kingdom and Dr. Donald Munro of Boston, Massachusetts, developed early standardizations of care in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively.1,3 By the late 1940s, the average life expectancy increased to approximately 10 years and doubled to 20 years in the 1950s; this improvement was attributed to the use of antibiotics and multidisciplinary programs.2