| SCI involves damage to the nerves within the spinal cord. Since
the spinal cord coordinates body movements and sensation, an injured cord loses the ability to send and receive messages from
the brain to the body’s systems that control sensory, motor and automatic functions below the level of injury. Thus,
Spinal Cord Injury commonly leads to paralysis. In turn, paralysis is accompanied
by other body changes such as loss of bowel, bladder and sexual functions, low blood pressure, chronic pain, depression and
respiratory complications. A pressure sore/ulcer is another common complication of SCI and a serious one can cause a dangerous
infection in the surrounding muscle and sometimes the bone. What Are the Causes of SCI? 50% of Spinal Cord Injuries are caused by motor vehicle accidents and 4 of every 5 individuals that
suffer a SCI are male. About 15% of SCI's result from violent encounters, 22% from falls, 8% from sports and recreational
injuries, and sometimes certain diseases can also lead to SCI.
What are the Costs Associated with SCI?
Everyday living costs associated with Spinal Cord Injury are
high. The current annual costs relating to injuries are close to $10 billion while the current investment in research is less
than $100 million across all sources in the United States: federal, industry, foundations, and private donations. New Statistics about SCI The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Task Force discovered that
there was insufficient reliable information about the prevalence of paralysis and performed a study that confirmed new findings.
Today, a staggering 6 million people are living with paralysis in the United States, 33 percent more than previous estimates
indicated. Of these 6 million people, over 1 million are Spinal Cord Injured. This number translates to nearly 1 in 50 people,
which means that there is a mere one degree of separation between each one of us and a paralyzed individual. |  |