Tethered spinal cord syndrome is a rare neurological disorder where the spinal cord is attached, or tethered, to the tissues around the spine. This tethering of the spinal cord restricts its movements and prevents it from keeping up with its ongoing growth as the body grows. This causes the spine to stretch and elongate abnormally, which may cause nerve damage and extreme pain.

Tethered cord syndrome has been linked to spina bifida and scoliosis. Roughly 20% to 50% of children who were diagnosed with spina bifida at birth and have undergone surgery to correct its impacts on their body may need surgery later in life to untether the spinal cord as well.

Some children are diagnosed with tethered cord syndrome at birth (what’s known as a congenital condition), whereas others get symptoms of the condition as infants or during their early childhood. In some cases, people with tethered cord syndrome show no visible sign of the condition until they become adults.

Most incidents of tethered cord syndrome are developmental — that is, they unfold as the child grows older. This happens as fibrous connective tissue builds up in the filum terminale, which typically runs from the L1 vertebra of the spinal cord up to the beginning of the coccyx, or tailbone.

These fibrous tissues are non-elastic and are part of the neural tube. The neural tube is formed in the embryonic stage and later forms the spinal cord. The fibrous tissue comes out of the neural tube and attaches itself to the spine when the neural tube doesn’t close completely. This is what restricts the movement of the spinal cord.

Because tethered cord syndrome is a physiological condition, it can be reversed if doctors are able to detect it in its early stages and perform surgery soon after.