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There is no effective treatment for transverse myelitis, but any underlying infection must be treated. After this, the focus of care shifts from diagnosis and treatment to learning how to live with the effects of the syndrome. Patients are helped to cope psychologically with new limitations, and are given physical rehabilitation.
Physical adaptations include learning to cope with bowel and bladder control, sexuality, inability to control muscles (spasticity), mobility, pain, and activities of daily living (such as dressing).
As nerve impulses from the spinal cord are often scrambled and misinterpreted by the brain as pain, painkillers are given to ease discomfort. Antidepressants or anticonvulsants may also help.
— Carol A. Turkington
