SCIWORA (Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality) in Infants and Children

We review the biomechanics of the pediatric cervical spine and the clinical findings that pertain to SCIWORA (spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality) in order to provide a more thorough understanding of this pediatric phenomenon of closed spinal trauma with significant neurologic sequelae but without bony injury. The unique hypermobility and ligamentous laxity of the pediatric bony cervical and thoracic spine predispose to a SCIWORA-type injury. In SCIWORA, the unusually elastic biomechanics of the pediatric bony spine allow deformation of the musculoskeletal structures beyond physiologic extremes, permitting direct cord trauma followed by spontaneous reduction of the bony spine. Potential mechanisms of the SCIWORA include hyperextension/ flexion, longitudinal distraction, and ischemic injury of the spinal cord.