ABSTRACT
Keywords: Stages of adjustment to SCI, uncertainty reduction theory, illness uncertainty
theory, uncertainty management theory
Due to improvements in health care, including better resuscitation rates and long-term
care, the number of persons who survive spinal cord injury (SCI) has been increasing
(Frank et al., 1987). Approximately 8,000 SCIs occur annually in the United States,
where there are currently 250,000 existing SCI cases (Tyroch, Davis, Kaups, & Lorenzo,
1997). The range of disability associated with SCI can be classified into four groups
based on motor and/or sensory function preserved: (a) no motor or sensory function
preserved, (b) motor paralysis with deep sensation in feet preserved, (c) massive tetra
paresis with affected extremities rendered functionally useless, and (d) pareses of lesser
intensity, such that some muscle strength is preserved (Kiwerski, 1993). Causes of SCI
are classified as blunt or penetrating injuries. The majority of SCIs (70%) result from
blunt trauma, with the most common source (65%) of blunt injury being motor vehicle
collisions (MVC); falls and dives constitute a far less common source of blunt injury
(Tyroch et al., 1997). The vast majority of penetrating SCIs (95%) are caused by gunshot
wounds (Tyroch et al., 1997). Given these most common causes of SCI, not surprisingly,
there is a 4:1 male-female ratio for spinal cord injuries, with injury most often occurring
at a young age, 80% to people under the age of 40, and 50% to people between the ages
of 14 and 24 (Tyroch et al., 1997).
