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Spinal Cord Injuries

When someone mentions “spinal cord injury” an image of the late actor, Christopher Reeve, frequently comes to mind. After all, he was “Superman” - young, vibrant, healthy and strong, until he was cut down in his prime by a devastating fall off a horse that left him a quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator to do his breathing for him.

Each year, there are approximately 11,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCI) in the U.S., 850 in Canada, 350 in Australia and 700 in the UK. The vast majority of cases involve males. In patients under the age of 45, motor vehicle accidents are responsible for most spinal cord injuries; after age 45 falls become the most common cause. Other common causes include acts of violence (gunshot wounds) and sports (diving accidents).

Spinal cord injuries are classified as complete or incomplete. Complete spinal cord injuries are those that result in total loss of function, voluntary movement and sensation below the level of injury; incomplete SCIs are those that result in only partial loss of function, voluntary movement and sensation below the injury level.

And the difference between paraplegia and quadriplegia? Injuries that occur in the cervical (neck) region of the spinal column usually result in quadriplegia – a loss of function in the arms and legs, paralysis from the neck down. Any injury above the fourth vertebra may require the assistance of a ventilator for the person to breathe.

A spinal cord injury that occurs below the first thoracic spinal nerve (directly below the cervical region), usually results in paraplegia, loss of function from the waist down. This can include anything from difficulty with leg movement to complete paralysis of the legs and abdomen up to chest level; however, the arms and hands still function normally.

Generally, of the SCI patients that survive the first 24 hours post-injury, 85% are still living 10 years later. Life expectancy (remaining years expected to live) for those with an SCI is lower than normal, but continues to increase. Younger patients with SCI have significantly longer life expectancies than older patients with an SCI.

As would be expected, based on the severity of the spinal cord injury, paraplegics have longer life expectancies than quadriplegics; quadriplegics who do not require breathing assistance from a ventilator have longer life expectancies than those who do require ventilators. The most frequent cause of death is a respiratory ailment, such as pneumonia.

While devastating to say the least, actor Christopher Reeve taught the world that those with severely debilitating spinal cord injuries could go on to live productive, worthwhile and happy lives, giving hope to the millions of people living with spinal cord injuries today.