UMHS Research Advances Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation in Michigan

If you or someone you love has experienced a spinal cord injury in Michigan, you probably already know that this injury is very complicated. Spinal cord injuries are typically caused by a severe impact to the head, neck, or spine, such as may occur in a Michigan car crash, or in the course of a fall.

The severity of the damage depends upon the specific location of the injury. The higher up on the body the injury, the greater the risk that paralysis will develop. When an area of the spinal cord is fractured or crushed, the brain loses the ability to relay messages to some parts of the body. This is why the muscles and nerves directly below the injury are impaired. Such injuries generally result in paraplegia or quadriplegia. The trauma each victim experiences may be different depending on how severely the spinal cord was injured.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for spinal cord injury, as research for this type of injury is not as well funded as research related to other, more common diseases. An average of 10,000 to 11,000 new cases of spinal cord injury occur each year, but because spinal cord injury only affects a small percentage of the population, research money is scarce.

There are types of therapies being studied in Michigan and throughout the nation that show promise for helping some victims will regain some degree of function, although there are no studies to indicate that complete restoration is possible at this point. The University of Michigan Health System inpatient rehabilitation center is a leader in conducting research to advance the field of spinal-cord injury rehabilitation.

People who experience traumatic spinal cord injuries in Michigan will find it difficult to deal with this life-altering experience, and will be burdened financially by their need for long-term medical care and assistance. If their injuries were someone else’s fault, these victims may be entitled to compensation for:

• Hospital and medical bills
• Loss of income
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Vocational rehabilitation

If you have been seriously injured in a fall or a Michigan car accident, contact the Michigan injury attorneys at the law firm of Keller & Keller today at (269) 983-7333. We understand that these traumatic accidents can be life-altering, and we want to help you each step of the way.

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