Fast Facts

 

  • A spinal cord injury can happen to anyone at any time.
  • There are 600 new spinal cord injuries every year in Ontario (more than one a day) and current estimates indicate that there are approximately 33,140 Ontarians living with spinal cord injury. (Urban Futures Institute Report, 2010)
  • In Canada there are more than 1,500 new spinal cord injuries per year. There is an estimated 86,000 people living in the country with spinal cord injuries. (#s based on research by the Urban Futures Institute, 2010)
  • Spinal cord injury is one of the most traumatic events to occur in an individual’s life.
  • Spinal cord injury affects family, friends, employers, community and the health care system.
  • People can, and do, make a positive adjustment to life with a spinal cord injury given the right supports at the right time.
  • On average, it takes 2 to 3 years to attain sufficient independence following a spinal cord injury.
  • Intensive psycho-social support is a critical component to rehabilitation from the onset of injury, through acute hospitalization, rehabilitation and transition to community living.
  • It is estimated that the annual economic burden of traumatic SCI in Canada is approximately $3.6 billion, of which $1.8 billion is associated with direct health care costs. (Urban Futures Institute Report, 2010)
  • The top causes for traumatic spinal cord injuries in Ontario are:
    • unintentional falls – 43.2%
    • motor vehicle accidents – 42.8
  • In Ontario, males represent 68.4% of traumatic spinal cord injuries. Women represent 31.6%.
  • In Ontario, the highest incidence of traumatic injury is to individuals in the age range of 20-29 and to also, those over 70 years of age.
  • Problems related to pain, mobility and agility affected the largest number of adults. Nearly 3 million adults aged 15 and over, or 11% of this age group, reported one of these limitations. (PALS 2006)
  • Disabilities related to mobility were present in less than 2% of people between the ages of 15 and 24, but affected about 44% of individuals aged 75 and over. (PALS 2006)
  • Ontario reported a disability rate (15.5%) slightly higher than the national rate. (PALS 2006)
  • It is estimated that 90% of what we know about spinal cord injury has been discovered in the last 20 years. (Rick Hansen Institute)

 

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