The life expectancy of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) is increasing due to advances in medicine and technology. As a result, there is a higher incidence of age-associated illnesses in this population. Degenerative joint disease is a common age-associated illness that causes pain and thus, in persons with SCI above the T6 level, can serve as a noxious stimulus to trigger autonomic dysreflexia (AD). This is a case report of severe bilateral hip osteoarthritis (OA) causing unyielding AD in a person with tetraplegia leading to bilateral girdle stone surgeries. Hip OA as an etiology for AD has not previously been reported and is important to recognize as this population continues to age and to develop age-associated diseases.
Level of evidence: V.
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