Physical abuse can be detected by visible signs on the body including bruises, scratches, scars, sprains, or broken bones. More subtle indications of physical abuse include signs of restraint such as rope marks on the  wrist or broken eyeglasses. Emotional abuse often accompanies the other types of abuse and can usually be detected by changes in the persons personality or behavior. The elder may also exhibit behavior mimicking dementia, such as rocking or mumbling. Emotional abuse is the most under reported abuse of elder abuse. Elder abuse occurs when a person fails to treat an elder with respect and includes verbal abuse. The elder experiences social isolation or lack of acknowledgement in this type of abuse. Some indicators of the emotional effects of elder abuse is the elder adult being unresponsive or uncommunicative. Also they can be unreasonably suspicious or fearful, more isolated, and not wanting to be as social as they may have been before. Emotional abuse is under reported but can have the most damaging effects because it leads to more physical and mental health problems. Financial exploitation is a more subtle form of abuse, in comparison to other types, and may be more challenging to notice. Signs of financial exploitation include significant withdrawals from accounts, belongings or money missing from the home, unpaid bills, and unnecessary goods or services. Sexual abuse, like physical abuse, can be detected by visible signs on the body, especially around the breasts or genital area. Other signs include inexplicable infections, bleeding, and torn underclothing.
Delayed or severe nerve damage can mean up to several years recovery time because nerve growth is exceptionally slow.Review of the literature indicates that around 50–70% of patients have urinary retention (CES-R) on presentation with 30–50% having an incomplete syndrome (CES-I). The latter group, especially if the history is less than a few days, usually requires emergency MRI to confirm the diagnosis followed by prompt decompression. CES-I with its more favourable prognosis may become CES-R at a later stage. Epidemiology
Various etiologies of CES include fractures, abscesses, hematomas, and any compression of the relevant nerve roots. Injuries to the thoracolumbar spine will not necessarily result in a clinical diagnosis of CES, but in all such cases it is necessary to consider. Few epidemiological studies of CES have been done in the United States, owing to difficulties such as amassing sufficient cases as well as defining the affected population, therefore this is an area deserving of additional scrutiny.Traumatic spinal cord injuries occur in approximately 40 people per million annually in the United States, resulting from traumas due to motor vehicle accidents, sporting injuries, falls, and other factors. An estimated 10 to 25% of vertebral fractures will result in injury to the spinal cord. Thorough physical examinations are required, as 5 to 15% of trauma patients have fractures that initially go undiagnosed. The most frequent injuries of the thoracolumbar region are to the conus medullaris and the cauda equina, particularly between T12 and L2. Of these two syndromes, CES is the more common.