Spinal Cord Injury (Neurogenic Bowel Management)
Spinal cord injury happens when the spinal cord is damaged, which disrupts brain-body communication. This damage can be caused by trauma such as car and motorbike accidents falls, sports injuries, or violence. It can also happen without trauma, for example, from infections, tumours, or vascular events, meaning problems with the blood supply.
The injury be it trauma or non-trauma, starts with the initial damage, then swelling and inflammation make it worse over time. SCI can affect movement, sensation, bladder and bowel control, and other body functions. The severity depends on how much of the spinal cord still works.
Resources:
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/spinal-cord-injury
Source references
Lakra, C., Swayne, O., Christofi, G. and Desai, M. (2021) ‘Autonomic dysreflexia in spinal cord injury’, Practical Neurology, 21(6), pp.532–538. doi:10.1136/pn-2021-003083.
Levy, E. et al. (2023) ‘Neurogenic bowel management after spinal cord injury: Clinical guidelines’. [Online] Available at: https://link.springer.com (Accessed: 4 December 2025).
Linsenmeyer, T.A., Gibbs, K. and Solinsky, R. (2020) ‘Autonomic dysreflexia after spinal cord injury: beyond the basics’, Current Physical Medic
NICE (2016) Spinal injury: assessment and initial management (NG41). Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng41 (Accessed: 4 December 2025).
Yates, A. (2018) ‘Bowel care in spinal cord injury: Nursing perspectives’. [Online] Available at: https://www.rcn.org.uk (Accessed: 4 December 2025).
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