Facts & statistics

  • In Queensland, around 90 spinal cord injuries are sustained every year. On average, that’s one person every four days who has had their life turned upside down. In Australia, nearly 400 people sustain a spinal cord injury every year.
  • It is estimated that 9,000 people in Australia have a spinal cord injury.
  • A spinal cord injury doesn’t just mean loss of the ability to walk. Other areas of the body are affected including: cardiovascular, respiratory, bladder and bowel function, sexual function, temperature control, and loss of touch and feeling.
  • The most common age to sustain a spinal cord injury is between the ages of 15 and 30, which accounts for, on average, 42% of all people who sustain a spinal cord injury. (Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service (QSCIS) 2006)
  • Four times more men sustain a spinal cord injury than women.
  • In Queensland, the majority of traumatic (as opposed to disease-related) spinal cord injuries (nearly 40%) are typically sustained as a result of road trauma, followed by falls/crushes and water accidents. (QSCIS 2006)
  • Throughout Australia in 2005-2006, transport-related injuries represented 46% of all traumatic spinal cord injuries. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Cripps, R A 2007)
  • Other causes of spinal cord injuries include sporting accidents (eg. horse riding, football and gymnastics) and non-traumatic reasons (eg. disease).
  • Approximately 50% of spinal cord injuries result in paraplegia and the other 50% result in quadriplegia.

The financial costs

The costs associated with sustaining a spinal cord injury are enormous – to the individual, their families and the community. Because there is no cure for a spinal cord injury, these costs are borne for a lifetime.

The current cost of providing basic support for a person who has sustained a spinal cord injury at age 20 and who has a life expectancy to age 70, and for those on mechanical ventilation to the age of 50 is:

For a person with paraplegia $1,057,000
For a person with quadriplegia $8,392,000
For a person with high level quadriplegia requiring mechanical ventilation $12,357,000

From a purely economic point of view, any reduction in the number of people sustaining a spinal cord injury saves many millions of dollars for the individual, family, employer, insurer, government and community.

The annual costs, including hospitalisation, personal assistance, equipment and home modifications, for 90 newly-injured people to return home each year in Queensland is:

45 patients with paraplegia ($167,500 per patient) $7,737,500
43 patients with quadriplegia ($ 392,000 per patient) $16,856,000
2 patients with high level quadriplegia requiring mechanical ventilation ($1,047,000 per patient) $2,094,000

Total annual costs: $26,687,500

Note: The above figures do not include the following costs: hospital readmissions, ongoing medical and pharmaceutical costs, and transport and recreation expenses.