Paralysis / Spinal Cord
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PARALYSIS / SPINAL CORD INJURY
Of all the catastrophic injuries, spinal cord injury is the most complex. Spinal cord injury is an uncommon condition that has significant impact on the injured person's functional, medical, psychological and economic well being. Every year in this country alone, 8,000 to 12,000 people have a non-fatal spinal cord injury (SCI) and there are currently more than 200,000 Americans with SCI. The average age at the time of injury is 15 to 35 years old, with a male to female ratio of approximately 2:1. Spinal cord injuries most frequently occur on weekends, specifically between Friday night from 6:00 p.m. to Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. The peak season of the year for spinal cord injury is in the summer. The most common causes are motor vehicle accidents, followed by falls, sports injuries and violence. Injury prevention remains the most effective method of decreasing the incidence of spinal cord injuries.
Spinal cord injury rehabilitation requires comprehensive medical and therapeutic patient management. It is a multi-step process that starts immediately after the accident and continues for the remainder of the patient's life. Rehabilitation intervention commences at the time of injury with management of the acute trauma. This is the most critical time as the patient is at highest risk for SCI complications, including death. Acute rehabilitation follows with interdisciplinary intervention from physicians, rehabilitation nurses, physical, occupational and respiratory therapists, speech pathologists, case managers, psychologists, social workers and therapeutic recreation therapists.
