Traumatic spinal cord injuries produce paralysis of muscles innervated by the damaged spinal segment and segments caudal to it. Abnormal respiratory function has been observed in patients with cervical cord injuries, especially by postural changes in quadriplegics.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pulmonary function of the cervical cord injured (CCI) according to the postural changes. The study was performed on 26 cervical cord injury patients and 20 normal controls. Among the 26 CCI patients, there were 18 complete quadriplegics and 8 incomplete quadriplegics. The forced vital capacity (FVC), tidal volume (TV) and forced expiratory volume during first second (FEV1) were collected in each subject during supine, sitting and standing postures.

The results were as follows;

1) In control group, FVC showed increasing pattern according to the postural changes (from supine to sitting, sitting to standing). In the CCI, the pattern was reversed.

2) For the CCI, the FVC was decreased, but FEV1/FVC ratio of the CCI was normal. This means that the respiratory pattern of the CCI was not obstructive, but restrictive.

3) There was no significant difference in pulmonary function between the complete and incomplete CCI in all postures.

4) There was no significant difference in pulmonary function between the upper (C4, 5, 6) and lower (C7, 8) CCI in all postures.