Why spinal cord injuries are so hard to treat
Spinal cord injuries don’t just impact a person’s mobility – they can cause a range of long-lasting health complications. Here’s how research is helping.
Joel Sardi was 22 and in the Army following a deployment to Afghanistan when he lost his balance over a staircase and fell onto his back, shattering his C5 vertebrae.
The damage to his spinal cord resulted in Joel being diagnosed with quadriplegia, which means a loss of function below his neck.
“The spinal cord injury is so diverse… no two injuries are the same,” Joel says.
“The spinal cord is made up of horsehair-like strands, and there are millions of them – and as soon as one of those strands is damaged, then that damage is irreparable.”
What is a spinal cord injury?
A spinal cord injury (SCI) can happen to anyone.
In Australia, over 20,500 people live with an SCI, and one to two new injuries occur every day.
Spinal Research Institute (SRI) founder and director Associate Professor Doug Brown says most spinal cord injuries result from trauma such as car crashes, building site accidents, or falling from a height.
He says spinal cord damage disrupts signals of sensation from the body to the brain, as well as motor commands from the brain to the body.
“It’s not just the broken bones, it’s actually neurological damage,” Assoc Prof Brown says.
Assoc Prof Brown explains a spinal cord injury can affect a person’s ability to walk, their bowels and bladder, their respiratory system and sexual function, and many suffer from incapacitating nerve pain.
“Every part of us, really, is transmitted through that one channel,” he says.
How research is impacting spinal cord injury management
Assoc Prof Brown says more can now be done to help people with spinal cord injuries remain active members of the community.
He says research is underway to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, but progress is slow.
“The research that we’re promoting and interested in is research affecting all the organ systems,” Assoc Prof Brown says.
“It’s not (the) spinal cord alone, and so that makes it a very complicated area for researchers.”
SRI community and consumer engagement manager Antonio Vecchio says part of his job is getting more people with spinal cord injuries involved in research.
“(We need to be) communicating both ways; from the community side to the researchers, and then the researchers to the community,” Antonio says.
“Our mandate is collaboration – so everything we try and do is about getting people to work together to generate outcomes.”
Antonio explains spinal research is multidimensional.
“Paralysis isn’t always the biggest problem for people with spinal cord injuries; it is secondary complications like respiratory function and bladder and bowel management,” Antonio says.
“A lot of that has (an) impact on everyday quality of life as well.”
Helping people with disability enjoy quality of life
Joel, now 32, is an account manager for The Field, a platform that advocates for and connects people with disabilities to employers.
“It was built by and for people with disabilities,” Joel says.
“It’s going to businesses and saying, hey, there’s a skill shortage.
“Well, 2.1 million Australians of working age have a disability… This is how you can access them.”
Spinal Cord Injury Awareness week begins September 4 – visit the SRI website to find out more or to get involved.
More inspirational, real-life medical stories:
- A brush with mortality: Life with rare Addison’s disease
- Prostate cancer: ‘I never imagined it would happen to me’
- How vitiligo helped Onella become a pioneer for difference
- But you look well’: What it’s really like to live with an invisible illness
Written by Brittany Busch.
