The incidence of spinal cord injuries (SCI) is increasing, especially in the aging population (1,2). The estimated annual global incidence is 40 to 80 cases per million population, with about 55 new cases per million population occurring in the United States (1,2).
Spinal cord injury refers to damage to the spinal cord resulting from trauma (e.g. ski accident, car crash) or from disease or degeneration (e.g. arthritis, cancer) (2). The spinal cord is the largest nerve in the body, running