What is a tethered spinal cord?

Also known as: tethered spinal cord syndrome, tethered cord, tethered cord syndrome or TCS

The spinal cord normally floats freely in the spinal canal allowing it to move as an infant/child moves, bends, etc. As the infant/child grows the cord grows and moves with it. A tethered cord is held fixed or held taught by a band (usually at the end of the cord) in the spinal canal. This causes the spinal cord to stretch as the child grows.

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM