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The major causes of spinal cord injuries in the U.S. remain relatively unchanged, according to a new fact sheet recently released by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.  Vehicular accidents, accidental falls, acts of violence and sports and recreation account for more than 90 per cent of all spinal cord injuries.

Tracking trends in the causes of SCI among 4,518 patients admitted to SCI Model Systems Hospitals between September 2005 and May 2012, the study found the statistics to be essentially unchanged.

Vehicular accidents remain the number-one cause, accounting for almost 4 out of 10 spinal cord injuries.  Cars are the vehicle most frequently involved; motorcycles account for almost 25 per cent of the vehicular total.

Accidental falls are the number-two cause, responsible for about 30 per cent of all spinal cord injuries. They are fairly evenly divided among falls on the same level, falls from another level and falls on and from stairs and steps.

The third major causes of SCI are acts of violence, which are responsible for about 15% of the total.  The vast majority are from gunshot wounds.

Sports and recreation activities rank number-four in causes of spinal cord injury, with diving accidents being by far the most common cause, followed by winter sports, surfing and horseback riding.

Chicago Ideas Week, the idea-driven festival that highlights the best combinations of innovation and creativity, recently featured a highly attended presentation by Facing Disability and Table XI (our website designers) that is now available on video.

Focused on five major “aha moments” in the year-long creation of the website, the fast-moving presentation was led by Joshua Golden, founder and CEO of Table XI, and featured a panel including partner emeritus, Jordan Ho, senior designer Daniel Strabley and FacingDisability founder, Thea Flaum.

The “aha” moments featured in the video are:
A Spinal Cord Injury Affects the Entire Family
Close-ups are Powerful
The Web is not TV
Data is Personal
Accessibility =an Invitation to Explore

A final question: “Why Does This Matter?” discussed ways to measure the website’s success, including traffic, and feedback from users and members of the SCI professional community. The videos are also currently being used by a medical school to create a pressure-ulcer prevention program, in an e-learning package being developed by an international SCI organization to train people in the developing world in the management of SCI and by rehabilitation hospitals to expose SCI professionals to a larger and more varied group of personal experiences.

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.  Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to enjoy the winter and the recreational activities that come with the season.  Adaptive winter sports are an ideal way to stay active and healthy in 2013. Whether it’s hitting the slopes or ice, there are many options for people with spinal cord injuries.

Adaptive skiing is an adventurous way to spend time with family and friends.  Advances in technology and increased interest have made it a very popular sport.

A great way for beginners to get started is with mono or bi-skiing.  Both involve using sit-skis and outriggers, which are short-ski-footed poles.  People with more upper-body strength tend to enjoy mono-skiing on one single wide ski, while people with less upper-body strength prefer the stability of two skis.

Missi, whose son became paraplegic at 8 months, says skiing is a great way to spend time with her family.  Her son “does downhill skiing, so our whole family has been able to ski together, and we didn’t know that would ever be possible, that we’d all be out on the mountain together, so that was very fun.”  Watch Missi talk more about adaptive skiing.

Sled hockey is another another exciting adaptive sport.  It is a tough, rough contact game–with all the thrills, spills and satisfactions of regular ice hockey.  It is essentially the same as stand-up hockey, except players use adaptive sleds, which glide on two skate blades.  It also involves using two short-end hockey sticks that are used to navigate and shoot on the rink.  It is not a sport for sissies.

The sport is also played year-round competitively.  Bill, who has been paraplegic since he was 9 months old,  explains that sled hockey “is basically played the way as regular ice hockey.  We’re in a specially adaptive sled with two hockey sticks. We wear the same equipment that a hockey player wears, and you basically play hockey like everyone else would.”  Watch Bill talk more about adaptive sports.

Adaptive hockey is also a great social outlet.  Ramon, who became paraplegic at age 25, says, “My favorite adaptive sport in the world is sled hockey.  It’s something that I never thought I would be playing on the ice, and I got a great team, great folks.” Hear what else Ramon says about sled hockey.

If you’re looking for a little less action on the rink, consider recreational ice skating.  It uses a sled just like adaptive hockey, but can be a more relaxed way to spend the afternoon.

Sports are a very good way to connect with others who know what you’re going through.  Hector, who became paraplegic at age 19, believes, “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. Wheelchair sports, I recommended it to anybody that’s in a wheelchair. Get out there, and try it, just try it and you will get hooked on it. But don’t say I can’t, never say you can’t, you try it and you’ll be surprised what you can do.”  Watch more on adaptive sports.

What role have adaptive sports played in your life?  Please share below.

Kristin McNealus

Kristin McNealus, PT, DPT, ATP is the creator of SCI Total Fitness, the first online exercise program for people with spinal cord injuries. She received her Masters in Physical Therapy from Boston University and earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from MGH Institute of Health Professions. She is also a member of the International Network Spinal Cord Injury Physiotherapists, has contributed to the APTA Guidelines for Exercising with a SCI, and moderates a chat forum for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

When you have a disability, it is important that you work any and all muscles that you can. Stronger muscles will improve your ability to move. This is true for whatever your goal is – if you want to breath better, transfer better, or get back on your feet! You have to get in shape and you have to challenge yourself. You have to take control of your body!

Not everyone is fortunate enough to live close to an adaptive gym, and I know going to a community gym is not always possible… Then there is the issue with transportation. I understand – if I took me longer to get to my gym than the amount of time I was going to spend there, I would have trouble motivating myself to stick to a routine too!

You can get DVDs to get your sweat on at home, but I am offering an alternative. I
am a physical therapist, and I have started SCI Total Fitness. I put together exercise routines to mainstream music that are changed every week! Having different workouts hopefully prevents boredom, and motivates. Users can access the videos – there is a cardio workout and an interval strength workout – as many times as many times as they want to work out, whenever their schedule allows.

This is not your grandmother’s “Sit and Fit.” You can use as much or as little weight as you feel would make you work – using no weight and going the whole class is not easy! Use a chest strap if you are fighting your balance, especially if you feel a strain in your neck. Stand if you can, or sit on a physioball for a greater challenge. It is your workout, it is up to you to push yourself. Email me if you have any questions about how to modify the routine to fit your needs.

Get on a routine. Just like going to therapy is a routine that you put in to your schedule, pencil in your time to exercise. Make it a priority, and put your health first. Improving your strength and your fitness will maximize your potential!! And yes, I take song requests

Check out my site www.scitotalfitness.com and feel free to email me at Kristin@scitotalfitness.com.

How do you stay in shape? Share your workout tips below…

One of the world’s most prominent spinal cord research workshops is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9 at the Henderson House in Weston, Mass., for the fourth year sponsored and hosted by the prestigious non-profit Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation.

The Spinal Cord Workshop will feature international leaders in surgery and basic science including Keith Tansey, Hans Keirstead, Wise Young and Ed Wirth.

“They will debate and discuss the compelling questions regarding stem cell research and the barriers to curing spinal cord injuries,” said Foundation Director Dr. Ann Kiessling, who also a retired associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. “Since we started this workshop in 2008, the landscape for spinal cord injury treatments, particularly involving stem cells, has shifted dramatically. Many of our predictions have come true and this year’s workshop comes right on the heels of some very interesting new publications.”

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, about 270,000 Americans are currently living with spinal cord injuries.

This year’s workshop speakers include:

Philip Horner, Ph.D., University of Washington. His research focuses on regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS) with an emphasis on stem cell and progenitor cell biology. He will speak about stem cell transplantation and the molecular factors in cell integration.
Hans Keirstead, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, Reeve-Irvine Research Center. Dr. Keirstead created neurons for the recently publicized Geron trials and will speak about his work translating his science into clinical practice.

Ann Kiessling, Ph.D., is director the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation and retired associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kiessling will moderate the workshop.

Brian Kwon, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C., Canada, Research Chair in Spinal Cord Injury with the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research; Career Scholar Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia. Dr. Kwon specializes in the surgical management of adult spinal disorders.

Keith Tansey, M.D., Ph.D., director of SCI Research and Restorative Neurology at Shepherd Center, Departments of Neurology and Physiology at Emory University School of Medicine, Spinal Cord Injury Clinic at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Dr. Tansey will speak about neural plasticity and repair in spinal cord injury.

H. Richard Winn, MD,. director of Neurosurgery, Lenox Hill Hospital and Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Society of Neurological Surgeons established the Winn Prize, to honor Dr. Winn’s outstanding contributions to the field of neurosurgery and to encourage other surgeons to do research in the neurosciences.

Ed Wirth, M.D., Ph.D. was the chief medical officer at Geron for part of spinal cord trial and led the team at the University of Florida that performed the first human embryonic spinal cord tissue transplants in the U.S. He will give a talk titled, “Cell-Based Therapies for SCI: Lessons Learned in Planning and Conducting Two Phase 1 Safety Trials Over the Past 18 Years.”

Wise Young, M.D., Ph.D., Rutgers University. Dr. Young was part of the team that discovered and established high-dose methylprednisolone (MP) as the first effective therapy for spinal cord injuries. Dr. Young just returned from China with new data from the first multi-center spinal cord injury clinical trial in that country. He will give a talk titled, “Umbilical cord blood and lithium treatment of chronic spinal cord injury.”

About the Workshop
The Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation’s Spinal Cord Workshop will be held on Friday, November 9, 2012 from 9 AM to 4 PM EST (2 to 9 PM GMT) at the Henderson House, 99 Westcliff Road in Weston, as well as live online via Ustream.tv with a forum to ask questions. Anyone is welcome to attend the workshop. It is $25 to watch it online, $120 for corporations and general public to attend in person and $35 for non-profits, students, scientists and educators to attend in person.  Register at www.spinalcordworkshop.org and enter FACINGD15OFF to watch for $10.

About the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation
The Foundation was formed in 1996 as a Massachusetts Public Charity to support research that could not be done in major biomedical research institutions in Massachusetts for political reasons. By the year 2000, the need for the Foundation’s independent, non-federally funded research laboratory expanded to include human stem cell research. For more information, visit www.bedfordresearch.org.

We’re pleased to announce that our Chicago Ideas Week event led by our website design team at TableXI, was a success. On October 10th, Josh Golden, founder and CEO of TableXI, led an interactive presentation on “Building Community through Technology: Connecting Life Stories,” using the creation of FacingDisability as a model. The discussion panel included Zócalo Group digital strategist and Table XI partner emeritus Jordan Ho, senior designer Daniel Strabley, and FacingDisability founder Thea Flaum.

You may or may not already know that FacingDisability is the first website designed to connect individuals with spinal cord injuries with others who have been there before them. We worked closely with TableXI to refine and execute our vision, and now, one year later, the site has more than 1,000 original videos, gained national media attention, and positively impacted hundreds of lives in Chicago and beyond.

“When we began our partnership with Facing Disability, Thea had a vision that we found incredibly compelling, but she didn’t know how to get there,” says Josh. “We collaborated with her and her team every step of the way to further expand, then subsequently refine her vision into the compelling, easy-to-use, inviting online community that Facing Disability is today.”

FacingDisability has proven so successful that the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is currently working on a similar website for people with traumatic brain injuries. Josh finds it an interesting proof of concept. “Now they’re developing a whole new set of videos and reusing the technology for a new disease–it makes you think, can we do this for cancer patients? For amputees? Chicago Ideas Week has become an important event in the city, and we’re so excited to participate, since we believe this is a truly innovative way of doing things that was born and bred in Chicago.”

What ideas do you have for the new Traumatic Brain Injury website? Please share below.

Scientists in Japan have people buzzing about their new take on the classic wheelchair.  A research team, led by Shuro Nakajima at Chiba Institute of Technology, has designed a robotic wheelchair that has the ability to climb stairs and street curbs, move on uneven ground and rotate 360-degrees.  This revolutionary device is only a prototype, but it has the potential to change the way people with limited mobility navigate through life.

The device looks just like a regular electric wheelchair, only the wheels are designed to act like legs.  Each wheel is equipped with high-tech sensors that can detect terrain and overcome obstacles, all at the control of a joystick.  Plus, the robotic wheelchair is programmed to absorb movement, which keeps the seat level.  Watch how it works in the video below.

Nakajima set out to create an alternative wheelchair, versus a device like robotic legs, for people with limited mobility.  He told DigInfo.tv that, “We were particular about using wheels, because this kind of vehicle will mostly move on ordinary paved surfaces. The most efficient way of getting around on paved surfaces is to use wheels, like a car. So, this robot mainly uses wheels, but the wheels can become legs.”

The electric wheelchair is still a work in progress and needs to be tested before it hits the market. Nakajima says, “…we’re at the stage where we can show this robot to the world. In the next phase, we’ll get a variety of people to try it, so we can fine-tune the user experience.”

What do you think about the new prototype?  Please share your thoughts below.

Scott Mann is a Los Angeles personal injury attorney at the Law Office of Mann & Elias. Mr. Mann graduated from Pepperdine School of Law and for more than 20 years has been helping clients with spinal cord injuries obtain the benefits that they are entitled to.

According to the United Spinal Association, 250,000 Americans are living with spinal cord injuries, with more than 11,000 new injuries occurring each year. These life-changing injuries incur extraordinarily high medical costs, and unfortunately many insurance plans have greatly reduced their realms of coverage for hospital and rehabilitation expenses. After combining the initial hospitalization time in acute care units with the stay in rehabilitation as well as other medical costs like prescriptions, caregiver costs and insurance hikes, the average lifetime costs for paraplegics is $428,000 and $1.35 million for quadriplegics.

If you are part of the two-thirds of Americans living with a spinal cord injury and are unable to work due to your disability, it may seem impossible to face the heaps of medical bills on your own. Health and Accident insurance policies vary. Some only pay for injuries from accidents and natural disasters, while others offer continuous coverage for medical care. If you have a spinal cord injury, getting help with your medical expenses can be difficult and timely. Social Security receives more disability applicants for back problems than any other illness or injury. In fact, applications are up nearly 50% from a decade ago, meaning that disability examiners take great precautions and are very selective when determining who will be granted benefits.

In order to get disability benefits, you must have a medically determinable back impairment such as spinal stenosis, nerve root compression, chronic herniated disc or arachnoiditis. The evaluation process for SSD benefits can take more than 120 days. During this process an evaluator will review medical records, assess proof of diagnosis, review treatments and prescriptions, as well as other details about your specific injury like to what extent you are able to perform job functions. To avoid being quickly overlooked or omitted due to lack of necessity of benefits, it is crucial to attend all doctor appointments and follow your prescribed treatment plan. In the instance that your case is approved, you will not even begin to receive benefits until six months after the date your disability began.

Social Security claims are often denied due to the sheer number of applications they receive. In fact, the government denies more than 75% of claims. The good news is that upon denial of benefits, you are able to reapply to be reconsidered. The bad news is that you have only 60 days to appeal the denial, you must start from scratch and the hearing can take up to 18 months to take place. After all of this time that is precious and crucial to your recovery has passed, the judge may take an additional several months to issue a decision. If your claim is rejected for a second time, the next steps involve the Appeals Council and finally the Federal Court.

Obtaining financial help and applying for disability benefits when you have a spinal cord injury can be a long and difficult road, but with the right information and proper steps you may be able to acquire the proper benefits that you deserve and enjoy relief from your financial burdens.

Do you receive financial help?  Please share your tips or experiences below.

This article was brought to us by Jerry Segal, the founder of the Jerry Segal Classic, which benefits patients at Magee Rehab in Philadelphia, Pa. 

Family has always been important to me. But when I found myself somewhere I never thought I would be – wheelchair-bound with a spinal cord injury – their presence and support became even more needed. After my injury, I was sent to Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia – and let me tell you, they do not let you take it easy. I was in intense therapy for at least three hours every day. It was difficult and at times, frustrating.

Jerry Segal and his wife Carolyn.

One of the things I looked forward to every night was having dinner with my family. At this point after my injury, everything was new – this was one thing that hadn’t changed. One night, my wife Carolyn and I were having dinner in the hospital’s dining room. We were talking and enjoying one another’s company when she paused.

“Look around the room,” she said. “It shouldn’t be this way.”

I turned around and looked at all my fellow patients having their meals. Many of them were alone. Sure, they had each other. But they didn’t have their family. That thing that got me through every day, the solitary moment I looked forward to during even my worst days – breaking bread with my loved ones – they didn’t have that. How did they do it?

I turned back to Carolyn and asked why she thought more patients didn’t have their families with them. “Think of the expense,” she said. It’s true – having a spinal cord injury isn’t cheap. The equipment, the doctor’s visits, the medications – having any extra spending money to eat in the dining room was a luxury many didn’t have. Thank God I did.

When I left Magee, I was a different man than when I came in. I made a promise then and there that I would give back to the patients here, give them everything I could. I established a benefit golf tournament, known as the Jerry Segal Classic, to raise money for new patient programs at Magee.

After my experience in the dining room, I knew a big part of giving back was providing the opportunity to be with family. As such, one of the first programs we started with the funds raised in the Segal Classic was the Friends & Family Meal Program. So far, we have provided family members of patients with more than 50,000 free meals. That’s 50,000 times a patient didn’t have to eat alone. Fifty-thousand days they had something to look forward to.

Some years later, I came back to Magee to visit, as I regularly do. On this particular trip, I met a woman who was visiting her son who had sustained a spinal cord injury. She didn’t live in Philadelphia. She didn’t even live in Pennsylvania. She drove hours every day to see her son. She looked at me, eyelids sagging, and lamented how exhausted she was. “But he’s my only son,” she said with resolve. “I’m going to be here for him every day, no matter what it takes.”

I excused myself and made a couple phone calls. After a few moments away, I returned and told the woman I spoke to a friend of mine who owned a hotel, and we worked out a deal. She had a place to stay as long as her son was here, so she could be close to him and learn how to care for him when he returned home. The look on her face – and her son’s when he found out she was staying – made me want to do that for everyone, every day. So with the next batch of funds from the Segal Classic, we started the Segal Housing Fund. The fund subsidizes guest housing at the Windsor Hotel and enables family members of patients who live far away to stay near their loved ones during rehabilitation and learn how to care for the patients when they return home. Needless to say, it gets a lot of use.

While all of the programs and services we have helped fund are special to me, these family programs hold an important place in my heart – and my wife’s. I know I would not have had the recovery I did were it not for her constant presence, love and support. My goal with these programs is to give everyone that opportunity.

What helped you or your family through rehabilitation? Share your comments below:

FacingDisability was featured during Chicago Ideas Week, the idea-driven festival that explores the importance of innovation and creativity, created in 2011 by Groupon co-founder, Brad Keywell. The multi-event festival, Oct. 8-14, has been described as “a week of brainstorming with innovators, big thinkers and entrepreneurs.”

A behind-the-scenes look at how FacingDisability founder Thea Flaum and Chicago’s Table XI web development consultants Josh Golden and Daniel Strabley, along with Zócalo digital strategist and Table XI Partner Jordan Ho, worked together to create the first-of-its-kind website FacingDisability.com. The presentation will be held Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, 115 W. Chicago Avenue. Admission is free.

The interactive event, “Connecting Life Stories: Building Community Through Technology,” will reveal the key moments that inspired Flaum and TableXI CEO Josh Golden in the creation of the groundbreaking website.

“We collaborated with Thea and her team every step of the way to further expand, then subsequently refine her vision into the compelling, easy-to-use, inviting online community that FacingDisability is today,” says Golden.

“We were building it without a road map, and without a safety net, “ comments Flaum.

Since its launch a little over a year ago, FacingDisability has become home to more than 1,000 videos and has earned widespread professional recognition, national media attention and impacted thousands of lives.

Those unable to attend the vent will be updated with a video of FacingDisability and Table XI’s presentation after the event.

If you would like to RSVP, please leave your comments below: