For some individuals who suffer a spinal injury, surgery can make a difference in how the injury heals. In most cases it makes sense that the sooner a surgery takes place, the better.
A study recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, uncovered an interesting trend regarding the age of patients and the timing in which they receive the surgery. The study focused on data pertaining to 1,440 Canadians and was compiled by the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry.
The results of the study revealed that older patients—specifically those over the age of 65—waited longer than younger patients for spinal surgery, following an injury. As compared to their younger counter parts who waited around 19 hours, older patients waited almost twice as long, 37 hours, before receiving surgery.
Spinal surgery is not the only thing where older patients are lagging behind. In addition, following a spinal injury, it takes twice as long for those over the age of 65 to get to a specialist spinal care centre. Why these delays are occurring is currently not clear.
Since individuals over the age of 70 are experiencing traumatic spine injuries at a significantly higher rate than in the past, it is understandable why this trend would be of concern. While in older individuals tripping and falling could be to blame, people of all ages could find that they are suffering from a serious spinal injury.
In some situations it is possible that such an injury could be the result of an accident that is caused by another party. When that happens a personal injury lawyer could be of assistance.
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