WHEEL WORLD NEWS
September 2018
15
National SCI Awareness Month
September 2018
National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month was established in September 2014 thanks to the passing of U.S. Senate Resolution 533. Now that it's awareness month, we thought we shed some light on facts and resources relating to spinal cord injuries.
More than 5.6 million Americans, or one in 50 people, live with some form of paralysis. Of those, 1.275 million are living with paralysis due to a spinal cord injury (Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month).
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an injury to the spinal cord that results in temporary or permanent changes in the spinal cord’s normal motor, sensory, or autonomic function. People who sustain a spinal cord injury often have permanent and profound neurologic deficits and accompanying paralysis.
•There are approximately 285,000 people in the U.S. living with SCI in 2017.
•There are approximately 17,500 new SCI cases in the U.S. each year.
•The average age at injury has increased from 29 years during the 1970s to 42 years currently.
Males account for about 81% of new SCI cases.
•Vehicle crashes are currently the leading cause of SCI (38.4%), followed by falls, acts of violence, and sports/recreation activities.
•About 30% of people with SCI are re-hospitalized one or more times during any given year following injury.
•SCI costs roughly $40.5 billion annually
(Facts cited from United Spinal Association)
Great information and resources can be located on these sites.