The Big Picture — Why a Spinal Cord Injury Affects Your Whole Body

Your SCI doesn’t stop at your spine. A major new study shows why long-term health monitoring matters.

If you or someone you love has had a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), you already know life changes in big ways. But a new study published in one of the most respected medical journals in the world — JAMA Network Open — delivers an important message: the health risks from an SCI go far beyond the injury itself.

Researchers from Mass General Brigham in Boston and the University of California Health System tracked thousands of people with traumatic SCIs over nearly 30 years, from 1996 to 2024. They compared people with SCIs to similar people who had not been injured. What they found was eye-opening.

People with traumatic SCIs were significantly more likely to develop serious chronic health conditions — including heart disease, stroke, depression, dementia, seizures, diabetes, and hormonal problems — compared to people who had never had an SCI. And these risks were higher across all age groups and all types of spinal injuries. Even younger adults aged 18 to 45 were not spared.

The lead researcher, Dr. Saef Izzy of Mass General Brigham, put it plainly: “The journey doesn’t end when patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries leave the hospital or rehab.”

Why does this happen? When the spinal cord is damaged, it sets off a chain reaction throughout the body. The nervous system, which controls everything from your heartbeat to your hormones to your mood, is deeply disrupted. Over time, these disruptions can lead to new health problems — many of which can be treated or even prevented if caught early.

The study looked at more than 2,700 people with traumatic SCIs in total. The results were consistent across two very different health systems on opposite coasts of the country, which makes the findings especially reliable.

The bottom line: people living with an SCI need ongoing, whole-body healthcare — not just treatment for the injury itself. Knowing what to watch for can make a real difference. The articles that follow take a closer look at each major health area the study examined.

Source: Mashlah A, et al. JAMA Network Open, November 2025.