Some individuals will not survive as long while others will survive longer. These estimates are based solely on the chosen factors below. Many other factors can also influence life expectancy and may need to be considered on a case by case basis.
Long-term survival and causes of death. Spinal cord injury: clinical outcomes from the Model Systems. Gaithersburg MD : Aspen, , pp Life expectancy of ventilator-dependent persons with spinal cord injuries. Chest ; Recent trends in mortality and causes of death among persons with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil ; Long-term mortality risk after spinal cord injury.
DeVivo MJ. Estimating life expectancy for use in determining lifetime costs of care. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil ;7 4 Health status, community integration, and economic risk factors for mortality after spinal cord injury.
Trends in life expectancy after spinal cord injury. Long-term survival of persons ventilator dependent after spinal cord injury. J Spinal Cord Med ; The sooner that muscles start working again after a spinal cord injury, the better the chances are of additional recovery—especially for walking.
However, when muscles come back much later—after the first several weeks—researchers report that they are more likely to be in the arms than in the legs. Will I Walk Again? It's a little harder to predict, but there are two rules of thumb: As long as you're seeing some improvement and additional muscles recovering function, your chances of seeing more improvement are better. The longer you go without seeing improvement, the lower the odds are of improvement just starting to happen on its own.
Dilemmas So, at the same time that an incomplete injury is a good thing, it does create some predicaments. How do you deal with the fact that no one can give you a really good prediction of what to expect a year or two into the future? As any spinal cord injury can be life-changing, you need to plan for the future. Should you go ahead and modify your house or should you wait?
Should you buy a van or hang on to that four-door sedan with the stick shift a little longer? How long should you let your life stay on hold while you watch to see what kind of recovery you'll get? Do you quit your job to focus on therapy for the next six months or year? Do you postpone a big trip, a graduation, a move—on the chance it might be easier later on—or do you go ahead and do it now? Possible Guidelines There really aren't any easy answers.
And, unfortunately, people with incomplete injuries may face other, more immediate challenges as well: For some, the length of inpatient hospitalization may be shorter, while more time may be spent in outpatient therapy. This is good—it gets you home faster. But, at the same time, it sometimes causes you to miss out on inpatient programs classes, and even chances to interact with other people with spinal cord injuries and professionals whose experiences you might benefit from.
Compared with people with complete spinal cord injuries, there are—and probably always will be—fewer people with injuries just like yours who are going through the same things you are. You may feel neglected or overlooked.
Often rehab, as well as building adaptations and specialized equipment and even many community programs , seem as if they're designed for the person with the complete injury. This can be a particular problem if, for example, your incomplete injury affects your mobility but doesn't require you to use a wheelchair all of the time; or if your legs work pretty well, but your arms are not too cooperative.
Even more concerning, benefit programs may be harder to qualify for. Doctor charges, hospital bills and therapy sessions can be just as expensive as if your injury is a complete one, but because your condition may be changing, you may not qualify immediately for benefits like Social Security, Medicaid or vocational rehabilitation.
Programs for people with disabilities have limited resources and tight purse strings, so they often prefer to spend their money on people who they think are the most likely to be permanently disabled. When there is an incomplete injury, they may want to take a wait-and-see approach. That waiting and seeing can go on for months—or even longer.
Perhaps Worst of All Getting Some Perspective Remember: Most people with spinal cord injuries—whether complete or incomplete—do cope. Introduction to Spinal Cord Injury A spinal cord injury is damage to any part of your spinal cord or surrounding nerves which may lead to loss of strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of injury.
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