The natural history of neurological recovery in patients with traumatic tetraplegia.

During the years 1965 to 1986 the Rehabilitation Institute in Konstancin, Poland provided treatment for about 1400 patients admitted to hospital within the first hours or days after injury to the cervical spinal cord. This communication presents an analysis of 122 patients with tetraplegia, with absent sensation or only slight deep sensation preserved on admission. The patients showed considerable neurological recovery of the paralysed muscles. The analysis includes the age of patients, the level and degree of spinal cord injury, the mechanism of spinal injury, the time interval from injury to the return of sensation, voluntary movements and bladder automatism functions, as well as the ability to walk.