Epidemiology
Approximately 300,000 people are living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in the US, and there are around 17,900 new cases each year.[1] Common causes of traumatic SCI include motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports injuries, and violence. Around three-quarters of patients with SCI are male, and the average age at injury is 43 years.[1]
The epidemiology of nontraumatic SCI is more difficult to assess and describe, and worldwide prevalence of paralysis related to SCI and spinal cord disease is very hard to quantify, but it adds a significant amount of burden to the medical and social systems.[2]
Children and older patients are most at risk of SCI. In children, the cervical spinal cord is particularly vulnerable because of their proportionally larger heads, less developed neck musculature, horizontal orientation of the facets, and relative ligamentous laxity, and because ossification of the uncinate process of the vertebra occurs at around age 7 years. In older patients, the recovery from SCI is diminished due to compromise of the vascular supply by degenerative changes in the cervical spine and atherosclerotic changes in the arteries supplying the cord. Falls are the most common cause of SCI for this population. Older patients also have a higher incidence of metastasis of tumors to the spinal column, and of some primary tumors such as myeloma.
The most frequent neurologic category at discharge after acute SCI is incomplete tetraplegia, followed by incomplete paraplegia, complete paraplegia, and complete tetraplegia. NSCISC: spinal cord injury facts & figures at a glance Opens in new window
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