Spinal Cord Injury: Pevention Begins with Awareness

Most spinal cord injuries occur due to accidents
By increasing awareness and taking precautions, many of these accidents, and the resulting spinal cord injuries could be preventable. For those concerned with quality of life of young people, preventing spinal cord injury must become a primary concern.

Understanding spinal cord injury
The spinal cord is the bundle of nerves that runs inside the backbone, or the vertebral column. Nerves from this bundle, which are distributed throughout the body, control voluntary actions — such as moving one's arm and leg — and involuntary actions — such as food digestion and breathing. Spinal cord injury results in paralysis of the limbs affected as well as partial or complete disruption of involuntary actions, including bowel, bladder and sexual function.

The facts

  • There are approximately 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury annually in the U.S.
  • An additional 4,860 people who sustain a spinal cord injury die before reaching the hospital each year
  • As many as 300,000 people are living with spinal cord injury in the U.S. alone
  • At least 30 people sustain a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis every day in the U.S.
  • The average annual medical costs associated with a spinal cord injury after the first year (when costs are even higher) are $30,000 - $148,000, depending on the level of injury.
  • The estimated lifetime costs of spinal cord injury ranges from $500,000 to more than $3 million, depending on the severity of injury.

Pediatric spinal cord injury facts

  • Between 1,500 and 2,000 new spinal cord injuries affect children and adolescents every year
  • Approximately 50 percent of injuries occur in the cervical region (neck), affecting the ability to breathe as well as
    upper body and lower body function
  • Fifty percent of injuries occur in the thoracic region (back), affecting primarily lower body function

Risk factors for spinal cord injury

  • Gender: Eighty percent of those sustain spinal cord injury after the age of 12 are males
  • Age: The majority of spinal cord injuries happen to people between the ages of 16 and 30
  • Race: More than 65 percent of those with spinal cord injuries are Caucasian; 27 percent are African-American
  • Activities: Participation in certain sports — including football, rugby, wrestling, gymnastics and diving — can increase injury risk. More than 60 percent of injuries from sports or recreation are related to diving accidents.