Spinal Cord Injury Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Spinal Cord Injury Spinal cord injury is a serious problem that effects close to 250,000 people in the United States with 10,000 people being injured per year . There are many things that can lead to spinal cord injury, including athletic injuries, car accidents, and recreational activities like swimming and biking. It primarily effects those between the ages of 16 and 30 and drastically effects the rest of their lives. It is a very debilitating injury that requires extensive medical care, often leaves the patients in a great deal of pain for the rest of their lives(2), and the treatment of which costs $10 billion dollars a year in the US.(facts from site 1) With all of these factors spurring research on there is a strong drive to find a cure for such a devastating injury. Spinal cord injuries can happen anywhere along the spinal cord, but the exact location of the trauma determines the effects that the injury will have. Injuries in the lower back, between the Sacrum(S1-S5) and Lumbar(L1-L5) vertebrae mainly effect the legs. Breaks in the Thoracic(T1-T12) vertebrae, located in the middle of the back, effect the torso and portions of the arms. While injuries in the spine above the shoulder blades, the Cervical(C1-C8) vertebrae, effect not only movement in the neck, but functions such as breathing, speaking, and eating. In the past, some functions have been able to be regained by some individuals, but after the initial recovery period most people see little improvement over the course of their lives. The main reason for such a poor recovery is that the nerve cells in the spinal cord do not regenerate on their own. Once the spinal cord develops, two things keep it from growing. One of which is an inhibitor protein and the ... ...en very bleak in the past, major hurdles have been overcome and science is now working on a way to help people recover from their injuries instead of teaching them how to live with them. Web Sites used in this Paper (1) Welcome to the American Paralysis Association - APACURE.COM http://www.apacure.com/mainfram.html -This site contains a short video on axon degeneration and an animated illustrations on the process of death and regeneration in nerve cells. (2) Theories on the Effects of Acupuncture on the Nervous System Emma Christensen, [deals with concepts of pain] http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper1/Christensen.html (3) Spinal Cord Injury - - Research Highlights http://www.nin ds.nih.gov/healinfo/disorder/sci/scispec.htm (4) Spinal Cord Injury Center http://www.med.nyu.edu/clnre s95/spincord.htm