Treatment of spinal cord injuries in the thoracolumbar region.

: Forty patients with spinal cord injuries in the thoracolumbar region were studied. Clinical and experimental data support the conservative approach. In some patients acute stabilisation is needed and in a few patients operative decompression may be considered. Promising experimental non-invasive techniques to improve recovery are presented, but there are no convincing clinical results so far. The authors believe that regeneration will be the key area for future research.