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The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation (SSPF) is a charitable organization founded in 2000 and headquartered in Pennington, New Jersey.
The charity aims to find a cure for Paralysis.
In January 2000, during a practice run at Walt Disney World Speedway, Sam Schmidt's car collided with the racetrack wall at 160 mph and he sustained a C-3/4/5 spinal cord injury. Following the accident, Sam Schmidt took the passion and commitment that made him one of America's top race car drivers and focused it on creating a broader awareness of spinal cord injuries and the research necessary to find treatment and cures.
The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation (SSPF) was formed later that same year to raise the necessary dollars to increase awareness of spinal cord injury/paralysis and the impact it has on the patient and family, for medical research to develop cures and effective therapeutic treatments and, most importantly, to provide newly injured patients and their families with the psychological support and resources to help them lead productive lives and to keep the family intact.
To cure paralysis and loss of function that spinal cord injuries cause, doctors will need a carefully orchestrated series of interventions. Treatments will begin in the emergency room and continue for months. Ever new forms of rehabilitation will be part of the therapeutic package. To speed the day when this regimen is available, SSPF supports research on a variety of fronts. Individual research grants encourage a multi-disciplinary approach to solving the complex medical problems that result from spinal cord injuries, in both the acute and chronic stages.
Perceptions about the human spinal cord have undergone a revolution in recent years. What was once considered hopeless is now showing signs of promise. SSPF funded scientists are on the cutting edge of spinal cord research, and advances are being made every day.
Working with other national organizations and visiting congressional leaders in Washington, SSPF works to influence the legislative agenda to meet the needs of people with disabilities. By keeping SSPF constituents informed on legislation, they become self-empowered and speak out to local and state elected officials as well as lawmakers in Washington. This helps educate key influencers about the vast returns that come from national commitment to research, rehabilitation, disability rights and quality of life issues.
Paralysis is caused by injury, stroke and disease. According to recent research, of the almost 6 million people living with paralysis in the United States alone, 1.3 million are spinal cord injured. This is about five times the number of people previously assumed, with many millions more throughout the world.
According to information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, having a disability of any kind greatly increases a person's odds of living in poverty. Over 50% of people with paralysis and over 62% of people with spinal cord injury live in poverty. Paralysis and spinal cord injuries cost the U.S. health care system billions of dollars each year. Spinal cord injury costs total roughly $40.5 billion annually. There are 50,000 wounded or injured soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and many have suffered spinal cord injuries. It is anticipated that these numbers will rise.
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or total loss of function in the arms, legs, trunk, and pelvis; paraplegia is similar but affects the thoracic, lumbar, and sacral segments of the spinal cord and arm function is spared. The paralysis may be flaccid or spastic. A loss of sensory function can present as an impairment or complete inability to sense light touch, pressure, heat, pinprick/pain, and proprioception. In these types of spinal cord injury, it is common to have a loss of both sensation and motor control.
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek (παραπληγίη) "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural (brain) elements of the spinal canal. The area of the spinal canal that is affected in paraplegia is either the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral regions. If four limbs are affected by paralysis, tetraplegia or quadriplegia is the correct term. If only one limb is affected, the correct term is monoplegia. Spastic paraplegia is a form of paraplegia defined by spasticity of the affected muscles, rather than flaccid paralysis.
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cord below the level of the injury. Injury can occur at any level of the spinal cord and can be complete, with a total loss of sensation and muscle function at lower sacral segments, or incomplete, meaning some nervous signals are able to travel past the injured area of the cord up to the Sacral S4-5 spinal cord segments. Depending on the location and severity of damage, the symptoms vary, from numbness to paralysis, including bowel or bladder incontinence. Long term outcomes also range widely, from full recovery to permanent tetraplegia or paraplegia. Complications can include muscle atrophy, loss of voluntary motor control, spasticity, pressure sores, infections, and breathing problems.
Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions such as spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, strokes, as well as pain or disability due to muscle, ligament or nerve damage. A physician having completed training in this field may be referred to as a physiatrist.
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute is the largest rehabilitation hospital in Canada. Owned and operated by the University Health Network (UHN), Toronto Rehab provides patients with rehabilitation care, helping people rebuild their lives and achieve individualized goals following injury and disability. It is composed of five sites across Toronto, which are: Bickle Centre, Lakeside Centre, Lyndhurst Centre, Rumsey Centre, and University Centre.
A standing frame is assistive technology that can be used by a person who relies on a wheelchair for mobility. A standing frame provides alternative positioning to sitting in a wheelchair by supporting the person in the standing position.
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders.
Michael Gerard Utley is a former American football player. He played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1989 through 1991, when he was paralyzed during a game.
The Paralyzed Veterans of America is a veterans' service organization in the United States of America, founded in 1946. The organization holds 33 chapters and 70 National Service Offices in the United States and Puerto Rico. It is based in Washington, D.C. The organization was founded in 1946 by a band of service members who came home from World War II with spinal cord injuries. These service members wanted to live with independence and dignity and as contributors to society, so they created the organization to be governed by its members, veterans of the armed forces living with spinal cord injury or disease such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Craig Hospital is a neurorehabilitation and research hospital in Englewood, Colorado specializing in spinal cord injury (SCI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation and research. Craig is a 93-bed, private, not-for-profit, free-standing long-term acute care and rehabilitation hospital that provides a comprehensive system of inpatient and outpatient medical care, rehabilitation, neurosurgical rehabilitative care, and long-term follow-up services. Half of Craig's patients come from outside of Colorado each year, and in the past four years Craig has treated patients from all 50 states and several foreign countries. At any given time, the staff at Craig treats approximately 55 inpatients with spinal cord injuries, 30 with traumatic brain injuries, and 50-60 outpatients. Craig provides housing for out-of-state families and outpatients, including the first 30 days free for families of new inpatients.
Shepherd Center is a private, not-for profit hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1975, the 152-bed hospital focuses on the medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury and disease, acquired brain injury, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain and other neuromuscular problems.
MedStar National Rehabilitation Network is located in Washington, D.C., and specializes in treating persons with physical disabilities, including spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, arthritis, amputation, multiple sclerosis, post-polio syndrome, orthopedic, and other neurological conditions. National Rehabilitation Hospital was founded in 1986 by Edward A. Eckenhoff, and is a member of the MedStar Health system, the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region's largest non-profit healthcare organization.
The Kessler Foundation was established in 1985 and is one of the largest public charities in the United States supporting people with disabilities. Kessler Foundation Research Center has research programs designed to improve function and quality of life for persons with spinal cord and traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis and other neurological and orthopedic conditions. Kessler Foundation has also distributed millions of dollars to programs that promote the employment of people with disabilities through its "Transition to Work" Signature and Community Employment grants. The Foundation's Special Initiative grants also support related community programs like ThinkFirst, an injury prevention program for children. Kessler Foundation has a full-time staff of 90 individuals, divided between two locations in West Orange, NJ.
Kristjan T. Ragnarsson, M.D., is an American physiatrist with an international reputation in the rehabilitation of individuals with disorders of the central nervous system. He is currently the Dr. Lucy G. Moses Professor and Chair of Rehabilitation Medicine at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.
The Kennedy Krieger Institute is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, Johns Hopkins affiliate located in Baltimore, Maryland, that provides in-patient and out-patient medical care, community services, and school based programs for children and adolescents with learning disabilities, as well as disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal system. The Institute provides services for children with developmental concerns mild to severe and is involved in research into various disorders, including new interventions and earlier diagnosis.
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, part of Jefferson Health, founded in 1958, is a 96-bed specialty medical rehabilitation hospital providing physical and cognitive rehabilitation services. Magee's flagship facility is located in Center City Philadelphia. In addition to the main campus that offers comprehensive services for spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, orthopaedic replacement, amputation, pain management and work injury, Magee provides an expanding outpatient network serving the surrounding communities. In 1985, Magee's brain injury rehabilitation program became the first in the nation to be accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Magee partnered with Jefferson Hospital to create one of the nation's 14 federally designated centers for spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Magee has been rated one of America's leading rehabilitation hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Magee provides treatment to more than 5,000 individuals annually. Magee is authorized to treat wounded military personnel returning from war. Magee is not an Obligated Group Affiliate.
TIRR Memorial Hermann is a 134-bed rehabilitation hospital, rehabilitation and research center, outpatient medical clinic and network of outpatient rehabilitation centers in Houston, Texas that offers physical rehabilitation to patients following traumatic brain or spinal injury or to those suffering from neurologic illnesses. In 2014, U.S. News & World Report named TIRR Memorial Hermann to the list of America's Best Hospitals for the 25th consecutive time.
The Canadian Spinal Research Organization (SCRO) is a nationally registered charity whose mission is to improve the physical quality of life for persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) and related neurological deficits, as well as to reduce the number of spinal cord injuries through awareness and prevention programs.
Although spinal cord injury (SCI) often causes sexual dysfunction, many people with SCI are able to have satisfying sex lives. Physical limitations acquired from SCI affect sexual function and sexuality in broader areas, which in turn has important effects on quality of life. Damage to the spinal cord impairs its ability to transmit messages between the brain and parts of the body below the level of the lesion. This results in lost or reduced sensation and muscle motion, and affects orgasm, erection, ejaculation, and vaginal lubrication. More indirect causes of sexual dysfunction include pain, weakness, and side effects of medications. Psycho-social causes include depression and altered self-image. Many people with SCI have satisfying sex lives, and many experience sexual arousal and orgasm. People with SCI may employ a variety of adaptations to help carry on their sex lives healthily, by focusing on different areas of the body and types of sexual acts. Neural plasticity may account for increases in sensitivity in parts of the body that have not lost sensation, so people often find newly sensitive erotic areas of the skin in erogenous zones or near borders between areas of preserved and lost sensation.
Spinal cord injury research seeks new ways to cure or treat spinal cord injury in order to lessen the debilitating effects of the injury in the short or long term. There is no cure for SCI, and current treatments are mostly focused on spinal cord injury rehabilitation and management of the secondary effects of the condition. Two major areas of research include neuroprotection, ways to prevent damage to cells caused by biological processes that take place in the body after the injury, and neuroregeneration, regrowing or replacing damaged neural circuits.