Low-level tetraplegics (C5 to C7) can often live independently.Even with "complete" injuries, in some rare cases, through intensive rehabilitation, slight movement can be regained through "rewiring" neural connections, as in the case of actor Christopher Reeve.In the case of cerebral palsy, which is caused by damage to the motor cortex either before, during (10%), or after birth, some people with tetraplegia are gradually able to learn to stand or walk through physical therapy.Quadriplegics can improve muscle strength by performing resistance training at least three times per week. Combining resistance training with proper nutrition intake can greatly reduce co-morbidities such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Epidemiology
There are an estimated 17,700 spinal cord injuries each year in the United States; the total number of people affected by spinal cord injuries is estimated to be approximately 290,000 people.In the US, spinal cord injuries alone cost approximately US$40.5 billion each year, which is a 317 percent increase from costs estimated in 1998 ($9.7 billion).The estimated lifetime costs for a 25-year-old in 2018 is $3.6 million when affected by low tetraplegia and $4.9 million when affected by high tetraplegia. In 2009, it was estimated that the lifetime care of a 25-year-old rendered with low tetraplegia was about $1.7 million, and $3.1 million with high tetraplegia.There are about 1,000 people affected each year in the UK (~1 in 60,000—assuming a population of 60 million). Terminology
The condition of paralysis affecting four limbs is alternately termed tetraplegia or quadriplegia.
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury that results in the partial or total loss of use of all four limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms. The loss is usually sensory and motor, which means that both sensation and control are lost. The paralysis may be flaccid or spastic. Signs and symptoms
Although the most obvious symptom is impairment of the limbs, functioning is also impaired in the torso. This can mean a loss or impairment in controlling bowel and bladder, sexual function, digestion, breathing and other autonomic functions. Furthermore, sensation is usually impaired in affected areas. This can manifest as numbness, reduced sensation or burning neuropathic pain. Secondarily, because of their depressed functioning and immobility, people with tetraplegia are often more vulnerable to pressure sores, osteoporosis and fractures, frozen joints, spasticity, respiratory complications and infections, autonomic dysreflexia, deep vein thrombosis, and cardiovascular disease.The severity of the condition depends on both the level at which the spinal cord is injured and the extent of the injury. An individual with an injury at C1 (the highest cervical vertebra, at the base of the skull) will probably lose function from the neck down and be ventilator-dependent. An individual with a C7 injury may lose function from the chest down but still retain use of the arms and much of the hands. The extent of the injury is also important. A complete severing of the spinal cord will result in complete loss of function from that vertebra down.