Pavia, Italy, December 23, 2025 – While medical advancements continue, the ability to regain nerve function after a spinal cord injury doesn’t diminish with age, according to a new study. Though, older adults face greater challenges in recovering everyday independence following such injuries.
Injury: A Tale of Two Recoveries
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New research reveals a disconnect between neurological and functional recovery after spinal cord injuries, highlighting the importance of tailored rehabilitation approaches.
- Age doesn’t impact the body’s ability to restore nerve function after a spinal cord injury.
- Older adults experience more difficulty regaining independence in daily tasks like bathing and feeding.
- Recovery challenges substantially increase for individuals over the age of 70.
- The study tracked over 2,100 patients for one year post-injury.
“With population growth and improvements in medicine, the number of people diagnosed with spinal cord injury is increasing and the average age at the time of injury is rising,” said study author Chiara Pavese, MD, PhD, of the University of Pavia. “Despite substantial advances in medicine and surgery over the past decades, the rate of recovery after spinal cord injury has remained the same.Our results may help researchers design studies tailored by people’s age to evaluate new therapies and approaches for people with spinal cord injury.”
Nerve Function: Age is just a Number
The research team discovered that age didn’t affect neurological recovery. Participants of all ages demonstrated similar improvements in motor strength and sensory abilities, such as the ability to feel light touch or a pin prick.This suggests the nervous system retains a remarkable capacity for repair, regardless of a person’s years.
The Functional Divide: Where Age Matters
However, the story changes when it comes to functional recovery. Older adults experienced significantly more difficulty regaining independence in essential daily activities, including feeding themselves, bathing, managing bladder and bowel function, and getting around. They also showed less improvement on walking assessments, which measured walking speed with or without assistance like a cane.
A Large-Scale Look at Recovery
The study, published in Neurology, involved 2,171 individuals with spinal cord injuries, with an average age of 47. All participants were initially treated at spinal care units participating in the European Multicenter Study about Spinal Cord Injury.Researchers followed these patients for a full year after their injuries, repeatedly evaluating their physical and functional capabilities to analyze the relationship between age and recovery.
Quantifying the Impact of Age
Researchers found no correlation between age and neurological outcomes, such as arm and leg strength or sensory responses. In contrast, functional recovery clearly differed by age. Participants began with an average independence score of 31 (on a scale of 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better function) and improved to an average of 35 after one year.However, each additional decade of age was associated with a 4.3-point decrease in improvement on this scale. This difference persisted even after accounting for the severity and type of spinal cord injury.
beyond 70: A Critical Threshold
The study pinpointed a particularly noticeable decline in functional recovery among those over 70. “People older then 70 need specific approaches to rehabilitation that take into account other conditions they may be living with, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or osteoporosis, and help them with recovery that applies to their daily lives,” Pavese explained.
Study Considerations
The researchers acknowledged a limitation: a notable number of participants were lost to follow-up after one year, and the reasons for their departure-including potential mortality-were not fully known. This attrition coudl possibly influence the study’s results.
The research was funded by the Swiss National science Foundation, Wings for Life Research Foundation, European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation and Italian Ministry of Health.
