Resource Information

SCI Statistics

Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur each year in the United States. About 250,000 people are currently affected. Spinal cord injuries can happen to anyone at any time of life.

The typical patient, however, is a man between the ages of 19 and 26, injured in a motor vehicle accident (about 50% of all SCIs), a fall (20%), an act of violence (15%), or a sporting accident (14%).

SCI Background

The spinal cord is about as big around as the index finger. It descends from the brain down the back through hollow channels of the backbone. The spinal cord is made of nerve cells that pass through spaces in the spinal cord between the stacked vertebraes. Each pair of nerves is named for the vertebra from which it exits. These are known as:

C1-8

These nerves enter from the eight cervical or neck vertebrae.

T1-12

These nerves enter from the thoracic or chest vertebrae.

L1-5

The nerve cells carry sensory data from the areas outside the spinal cord (periphery) to the brain, and they carry motor commands from brain to periphery. Peripheral neurons are bundled together to make up the 31 pairs of peripheral nerve roots. The peripheral nerve roots enter and exit the spine from the lumbar vertebrae of the lower back.

S1-5

These nerves enter through the sacral or pelvic vertebrae.

Coccygeal

These nerves enter through the coccyx or tailbone.

For more information contact:

• National Spinal Cord Injury Association
• National Institutes of Health
• Outcomes Research Resources
• Paralyzed Veterans of America - Best Practice Guidelines
• Cleveland FES Center Clinical Partners:
  • Cleveland VA Medical Center
  • MetroHealth Medical Center
  • University Hospitals of Cleveland
  • Cleveland Clinic Foundation