General
- AKA contusio cervicalis posterior.
Number
- Rare.
Aetiology
- Inflammatory
- MS
- Infective (e.g. tabes dorsalis, HIV-related vacuolar myelopathy)
- Ischaemia
- (e.g. posterior spinal artery syndrome)
- Mechanical
- Tumour (e.g. spinal metastasis)
- Spondylosis (e.g. compressive myelopathy)
- Collections (e.g. spinal epidural haematoma or spinal epidural abscess)
- Metabolic
- Subacute combined degeneration of the cord,
- Copper deficiency myeloneuropathy,
- Vitamin E deficiency)
- Hereditary (e.g. leukoencephalopathy with brainstem and spinal cord involvement and lactate elevation, Friedreich ataxia)
Clinical features
- Affects
- Posterior columns
- Proprioception loss
- Paraesthesia's (often with a burning quality)
- There may be mild paresis of the UEs. Long tract findings are minimal.