SPINAL CORD AND NERVE DAMAGE

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can occur at any time to any individual.  Acute SCI is an unexpected event that can result from a fall or a car accident, no matter how minor.  It can occur from diving into too shallow water, or it can occur because of a wrong move during a sports event, and it often persists for the lifetime of the person who acquires it.  Young, Burns, Bowen, and McCutchen (1982) point out that most spinal cord injuries occur predominantly in younger people, with the most common age being 19, and that fifty percent of all injuries occur to individuals under the age of 25.  Though young age is not a determining factor in acquiring an SCI.  It can also occur during birth, or from a fall at age one-hundred and one.  Although over eighty percent of SCI persons in the United States are young men in the prime productive years of their lives, they come from all races, places, ages, occupations, educations and income brackets (Corbet, 1985).  An SCI plays no favorites and it may even be a result from disease (Chronic SCI).

According to the New England Journal of Medicine (1991) the incidence of acute spinal cord injury in the United States today is about 10,000 per year.  With the latest advances in medical treatment and technology, less than 10 percent of these persons die following their injury, as compared to years ago.

Once an injury to the cord has occurred, whether the result of an accident or chronic illness, and a person develops paralysis, there are certain steps that need to be taken in relation to the rehabilitation of the person.  This rehabilitation will enable the SCI person to return to the environment of social and vocational functioning as best as can be managed.  

Should you require assistance with a spinal cord or nerve damage injury, please contact us for an immediate free evaluation of your situation.  We have dealt with many of these cases and can be an invaluable resource for information and more importantly assistance. 

For more information about spinal cord injuries please click here to visit our spinal cord injury website.