|
Numbers of Spinal Cord Injured Higher than Once Believed
Author: | Tuesday May 05, 2009
Better emergency care and rehabilitation may account for higher numbers.
More People
Living with
Spinal Injury
than Thought
A study at the University of New Mexico has revealed that five times more people are living with challenges as a result of spinal cord injury than commonly thought. The new number is 5.5 million people in the United States who have some degree of paralysis, stated study author, Anthony Cahill, a disability specialist.
"They are not all Christopher Reeves," Cahill told the Associated Press, referring to the extensive injury sustained by the late actor who was a strong advocate for research that would lead to a cure. The report indicates that not only are less extensive injuries accounted for, but that individuals with paralysis are living longer and facing complications in addition to those associated with the aging process.
"Before World War II, you were lucky to live" following a spinal cord injury, said Joseph Canose of the Christopher and Dana reeve Foundation, which funded the study. Canose said that the support system for today's spinal cord injured person is not adequate to meet lifetime needs.
According to reports, there is speculation that the larger numbers revealed by the survey could spur drug companies to spend more money on research and give insurers notice that they have to consider longer term and more appropriate care. Canose said the system is upside down, often denying a $400 wheelchair seat cushion but spending thousands on treating the pressure sores the cushion could have help prevent.
Advocates also point to the fact that the impact of spinal cord injury goes far beyond the individual to include whole families. Researchers say that previous estimates mostly reflected recently and severely affected patients. Earlier research reportedly missed people who hadn't been in a rehab hospital for years, or never had been.
|
