New Program Helps Paralyzed Patients Walk Again

A new program at a hospital in Englewood, Colo. is helping victims of catastrophic spinal cord injuries walk again. According to a news report in The Denver Post, this program based on breakthrough research has been the “most promising development” in decades and shows the spinal cord can learn and legs can be retrained to walk. Researchers are learning that when the spinal cord is cut off from brain instructions by a traumatic injury, the hypersensitive spinal column could become its own brain.

Therapy Focuses on Making Patients Walk Again
This new treatment known as “locomotor therapy,” debunks several long-held assumptions about paralysis and represents an advance for technology over medicine. There is no cure yet for paralysis through medicine. But locomotor therapy refuses to write off the injured spinal cord. The program has moved patients from wheelchairs to walkers; from public buses to their own cars. Thanks to this therapy, some patients have been able to transfer themselves from their wheelchairs to beds, without the assistance of a home health aide. Although the program focuses on making patients walk again, it teaches them other things as well, from breathing to urinating.
Paralysis Statistics
According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, one in 50 people live with paralysis in the United States – which adds up to about 6 million people. That is the same number as the combined populations of the nation’s largest cities – Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. That number is also 33 percent higher than previous estimates. Average annual expenses for a spinal cord injury patient can range from $228,566 to $775,567 in the first year. Estimated lifetime costs can range from $681,843 to over $3 million for a 25-year-old. Also, 87.9 percent of all spinal cord injury patients are discharged from hospitals to private homes.
Compensation for Victims
If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, the experienced New York personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Our skilled spinal cord injury attorneys have a proven track record of helping victims get fair compensation for their losses. In a recent case our law firm recovered $5,600,000 for a spinal cord injury.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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Source: The Denver Post