• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Spine Center

UCLA Spine Center

UCLA Spine Center
  • About Us
    • Why Choose the UCLA Spine Center
    • Overview
    • In The News
    • Webinars
    • Make a Gift
  • Conditions
    • Adult Scoliosis
    • Adult Tethered Cord
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis
    • Basilar Invagination
    • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
    • Cervical Disc Herniation
    • Cervical Fracture
    • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
    • Chiari Malformation
    • Facet Joint Arthritis
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Idiopathic Scoliosis
    • Lumbar Disc Herniation
    • Lumbar Stenosis
    • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
    • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
    • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
    • Osteomyelitis
    • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
    • Platybasia
    • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
    • Spinal Compression Fractures
    • Spinal Cord Injury
    • Spinal Cord Tumors
    • Syringomyelia
    • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
    • Thoracic Spine Fracture
    • Trochanteric Bursitis
    • Adult Scoliosis
    • Adult Tethered Cord
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis
    • Basilar Invagination
    • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
    • Cervical Disc Herniation
    • Cervical Fracture
    • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
    • Chiari Malformation
    • Facet Joint Arthritis
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Idiopathic Scoliosis
    • Lumbar Disc Herniation
    • Lumbar Stenosis
    • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
    • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
    • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
    • Osteomyelitis
    • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
    • Platybasia
    • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
    • Spinal Compression Fractures
    • Spinal Cord Injury
    • Spinal Cord Tumors
    • Syringomyelia
    • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
    • Thoracic Spine Fracture
    • Trochanteric Bursitis
  • Treatments & Programs
    • Nonsurgical Treatment
    • Surgical Treatment
  • For Patients
    • Appointments
    • New Patient Questionnaires
    • Choosing a Multidisciplinary Pain Program
    • Patient Education Videos
    • Understanding Neck and Back Pain
    • Specialists Who Treat Back Pain
    • Physiatrists
    • Ergonomics for Prolonged Sitting
    • Fitness
    • Planning Your Spine Surgery
    • Preparing for Surgery
    • Patient Stories
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Health Plans
    • Helpful Resources
  • Contact Us
    • Map and Directions
  • Fellowship Programs
    • UCLA—WLA VA Pain Medicine Fellowship
    • Neurosurgery Spine Fellowship
    • Orthopaedic Spine Surgery Fellowship
    • UCLA Spine Center PMR Spine Medicine Fellowship
  • For Healthcare Professionals
    • Physician Directory
    • New Patient Questionnaires
  • Physician Directory
    • Specialists Who Treat Back Pain
    • Physiatrists
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

UCLA Spine Center

Conditions

Conditions

Conditions

  • Adult Scoliosis
  • Adult Tethered Cord
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Basilar Invagination
  • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Cervical Disc Herniation
  • Cervical Fracture
  • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
  • Chiari Malformation
  • Facet Joint Arthritis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Idiopathic Scoliosis
  • Lumbar Disc Herniation
  • Lumbar Stenosis
  • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
  • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
  • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
  • Osteomyelitis
  • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
  • Platybasia
  • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
  • Spinal Compression Fractures
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Spinal Cord Tumors
  • Syringomyelia
  • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
  • Thoracic Spine Fracture
  • Trochanteric Bursitis
  • Adult Scoliosis
  • Adult Tethered Cord
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Basilar Invagination
  • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Cervical Disc Herniation
  • Cervical Fracture
  • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
  • Chiari Malformation
  • Facet Joint Arthritis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Idiopathic Scoliosis
  • Lumbar Disc Herniation
  • Lumbar Stenosis
  • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
  • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
  • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
  • Osteomyelitis
  • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
  • Platybasia
  • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
  • Spinal Compression Fractures
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Spinal Cord Tumors
  • Syringomyelia
  • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
  • Thoracic Spine Fracture
  • Trochanteric Bursitis
  1. Home
  2. Conditions
  3. Adult Tethered Cord

Adult Tethered Cord

Share this

What You Should Know About Adult Tethered Cord

Adult Tethered Cord is characterized by a spinal cord that is located at an abnormally low position within the spinal canal. The position in which it comes to rest in an adult (L1 or L2) is caused by the growth of the individual. Tethered cord results when the spinal cord cannot normally ascend with growth, which causes it to stretch or become damaged.

Symptoms

This condition presents differently, and sometimes less obviously, in adults than in children. For example, children experience difficulty walking, and adults usually have pain and weakness in the legs, back, and foot arches. Adult symptoms also include limb muscle atrophy, sensory deficit (numbness), and urinary frequency and urgency accompanied by a sense of incomplete emptying and even incontinence. In adults, symptoms are aggravated by trauma, maneuvers associated with stretching of the spine (flexion), disc herniation, and spinal stenosis.

Diagnosis

Adult tethered cord is determined by an MRI, which shows a low level of the conus medullaris (below L2) and thickened filum terminale.

Treatment

How tethered cord is treated is based on the underlying cause. If the only abnormality is a thickened, shortened filum, then a limited lumbo-sacral laminectomy with division of the filum may be sufficient to relieve the symptoms.

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals ranked best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
  • UCLA Health
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Publications
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Emergency
  • Smoke-Free
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-310-825-2631
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Report Broken Links
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth