ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ

The life expectancy for those who survive one year after a spinal cord injury depends greatly on the severity of the injury and the age of the injured. For example, a 20-year-old who survives one year after a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia can expect to live around 40.7 more years. However, if a 20-year-old survives one year after a high tetraplegia spinal cord injury, they are only expected to live about 28.7 more years on average. 

How many spinal cord injuries are there every year?

In the United States, there are over 18,000 spinal cord injuries every year. As of 2024, there were estimated to be around 308,600 people in the United States living with a spinal cord injury. The average age when spinal injuries occur is 44 years, and vehicular accidents are the most common cause of spinal cord injuries in the United States, followed by falls and violence. Between 2015 and 2024, almost 37 percent of spinal cord injuries in the U.S. were caused by vehicular accidents, while eight percent were caused by sports accidents. 

The cost of spinal cord injuries

Spinal cord injuries can not only impact a person’s daily living and life quality but can also have a substantial financial impact. For example, the average expenses for the first year for someone in the U.S. with a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia was 687,262 U.S. dollars as of 2024. After the first year, someone with this type of injury could expect average yearly expenses of over 91,000 U.S. dollars. All in all, the lifetime costs for a 25-year-old patient with a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia are just over three million U.S. dollars. However, a 25-year-old with a high tetraplegia spinal cord injury could expect lifetime costs of over six million U.S. dollars.