More people are suffering spinal cord injuries in the United States, and most of them are suffering these injuries not in motor vehicle accidents, but fall accidents. According to new research by Johns Hopkins researchers, the incidence of traumatic spinal injuries is increasing the fastest among senior citizens.
The fact that senior citizens are now some of the biggest victims of traumatic spinal cord injuries is closely associated with the increase in the number of injuries in fall accidents. Senior citizens may be at a much higher risk of being involved in a slip and fall accident, and fall accidents can increase the risk of spinal injuries among seniors.
The study also seems to suggest an increase in the average age of a victim of traumatic spinal injury in the United States. Earlier research pegged that age at 41, based on data of traumatic spinal cord injuries between 2000 and 2005. According to the Johns Hopkins study however, the average age of a typical victim of spinal cord injury in the United States is now 51.
This increase in the number of seniors who suffer spinal cord injury is definitely something to take seriously, because such injuries may take a much longer time to heal in senior citizens above the age of 65. Traumatic spinal cord injuries are also linked to long-term disability, which translates into several financially and emotionally catastrophic consequences for senior citizens.
The researchers believe that the reason why more seniors are suffering traumatic spinal injuries in fall accidents, is the fact that seniors now tend to live not just many more years, but also more mobile and independent lives. That simply increases their risk of suffering a fall.
