In 1995, actor Christopher Reeve fell off a horse and severely damaged his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. From then until his death in October 2004, the silver screen Superman became the most famous face of spinal cord injury. But he was not alone. Every year, about 11,000 Americans experience a spinal cord injury, adding up to 200,000 people living with spinal cord injury disability in the United States.
A diagnosis of spinal cord injury can be devastating. The sudden presence of disability can be frightening, frustrating and confusing to trauma victims and their families and friends, who naturally wonder how this injury will affect their everyday activities, their jobs, their relationships, their dreams and their long-term happiness.
Accidents — motor vehicle accidents, falls and sports injuries — and acts of violence cause most injuries to the spinal cord. The injury interferes with your brain's ability to communicate through your nervous system with other parts of your body.
It's possible to retain all or nearly all sensation and movement after a spinal cord injury. Unfortunately, most trauma to the spinal cord causes permanent disability or loss of movement (paralysis) and sensation below the site of the injury. Paralysis can involve all four extremities, a condition called quadriplegia or tetraplegia, or only the lower body, resulting in paraplegia.
But there is good news. Christopher Reeve's celebrity and advocacy raised national interest, awareness and research funding for spinal cord injury. And exciting research developments occur regularly. Many scientists are optimistic that important advances will restore some function in people with a spinal cord injury within the next 10 years. In the meantime, many people with this disability continue to lead happy, active, independent lives. They are mothers and fathers, sports enthusiasts and respected employees. However, this doesn't happen without a team of health care professionals and a well-planned treatment regimen that may include medications, surgery, rehabilitation and counseling.
