Scientific Evidence for Activity Based Therapy for Recovery After SCI
Presenter(s): Susan Harkema, PhD
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Facts You Should Know About Spinal Cord Injuries
Think you know the facts about spinal cord injuries? Some information may surprise you.
Who Do Spinal Cord Injuries Affect in the United States?
250,000 Americans are spinal cord injured
52% of spinal cord injured individuals are considered paraplegic and 47% quadriplegic
Approximately 11,000 new injuries occur each year
82% are male
56% of injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30
The average age of spinal cord injured person is 31
SCI injuries are most commonly caused by:
Vehicular accidents 37%
Violence 28%
Falls 21%
Sports-related 6%
Other 8%
The most rapidly increasing cause of injuries is due to violence; vehicular accident injuries are decreasing in
number. 89% of all SCI individuals are discharged from hospitals to a private home, 4.3% are discharged to
nursing homes. Only 52% of SCI individuals are covered by private health insurance at time of injury.
What Do Spinal Cord Injuries Really Cost?
Length of initial hospitalization following injury in acute care units: 15 days
Average stay in rehabilitation unit: 44 days
Initial hospitalization costs following injury: $140,000
Average first year expenses for a SCI injury (all groups): $198,000
First year expenses for paraplegics: $152,000
First year expenses for quadriplegics: $417,000 (Jesse)
Average lifetime costs for paraplegics, age of injury 25: $428,000
Average lifetime costs for quadriplegics, age of injury 25: $1.35 million (Jesse)
Percentage of SCI individuals who are covered by private health insurance at time of injury 52%
Percentage of SCI individuals unemployed eight years after injury 63%.
(Note: unemployment rate when this article was written was 4.7%) Source: The University of Alabama National
Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. March 2002.
