Injury of the spinal cord has been known since antiquity. There is no cure for the injury and until modern times patients died rapidly from a combination of pressure sores and urinary tract infection. Treatment consists of preventing complications until the spine has stabilised and the patient can be rehabilitated to an independent life. "History of the Treatment of Spinal Injuries" explores how this treatment developed in the Ancient World, the Middle Ages, in Europe, Great Britain and latterly in the United States. It describes how these principles of treatment were recognised and explores the relationship and rivalry of the powerful personalities of the doctors who developed this treatment against the social background at different times.

Injury of the spinal cord has been known since antiquity. There is no cure for the injury and until modern times patients died rapidly from a combination of pressure sores and urinary tract infection. Treatment consists of preventing complications until the spine has stabilised and the patient can be rehabilitated to an independent life. History of the Treatment of Spinal Injuries explores how this treatment developed in the Ancient World, the Middle Ages, in Europe, Great Britain and latterly in the United States. It describes how these principles of treatment were recognised and explores the relationship and rivalry of the powerful personalities of the doctors who developed this treatment against the social background at different times.