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- It is estimated that 40,000 people per year suffer a spinal cord injury in the United States, not including those who die at the scene of the accident.
- This rate amounts to 40 people per million population
- In the mid-1970s, the average age for a spinal cord injury (SCI) was 28.7 years, and the range for most injuries was between 16-30 years. By 2005, the average age for an SCI injury was 40.2.
- At present, about 81% of SCI injuries were to males
- Causes of SCI injury break down as follows:
- 42% from motor vehicle injuries
- 27% from falls
- 15% from violence
- 8% from sports injuries
- 8% from other
- Types of SCI Injury
- Quadriplegia or Tetraplegia -- injury to the cervical portion of the spinal cord
- Paraplegia -- injury to the thoracic, lumbar or sacral portion of the spinal cord
- Complete Injury -- complete paralysis below the level of injury
- Incomplete Injury -- situation where only part of the spinal cord was damaged, resulting in the person having sensation but no movement below the level of injury or vice versa
- Neurological Breakdown of SCI Injuries
- 30% are incomplete quadriplegia
- 26% are complete paraplegia
- 21% are complete quadriplegia
- 19% are incomplete paraplegic
- Less than 1% experience complete neurological recovery by hospital discharge
- Post Injury Occupational Status
- 1 year after injury, 11.5% of SCI patients are employed
- 20 years after injury, 35.4% of SCI patients are employed
- Residence and Marital Status
- 88% of SCI patients are discharged to a private home
- 6% of SCI patients are discharged to nursing homes
- 6% of SCI patients are discharged to other hospitals or other types of locations
- 52.3% of SCI patients are single
- The rate of marriage for SCI patients is lower than for the population at large for the same age group
- Hospital and Rehabilitation Time
- From the mid 1970s until 2005, the median number of days in intensive care for an SCI injury was reduced from 24 to 12
- For the same time, the median number of days in a rehabilitation facility was reduced from 94 to 37
- Estimated Lifetime Costs
- C1-C4 Quadriplegic: $1.8 million to $3.2 million (based on age at injury)
- C-5-C8 Quadriplegic: $1.1 million to $1.8 million (based on age at injury)
- Paraplegic: $720,000 to $1.1 million (based on age at injury)
* Statistics provided by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center at the University of Alabama-Birmingham
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