FAQ

 What is paralysis?

The Paralysis Resource Center defines paralysis in terms of function, or rather, loss of function or feeling. Injury or disease to a person’s nervous system can affect the ability to move or feel. This reduced motor or sensory ability is called paralysis.

The PRC is not organized around specific causes of paralysis, although we offer detail on many types of disease and trauma that are typically related to paralysis. Included are: spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spina bifida, stroke, spinal cord infarction, transverse myelitis, post-polio syndrome, certain ataxias and certain muscular dystrophies.

What is a secondary condition?

The primary condition is a medical diagnosis: spina bifida, spinal cord injury, etc. A secondary condition is broadly defined as any medical, social, emotional, mental, family, or community problem that a person with a primary disabling condition likely experiences. For example, pressure sores are a secondary condition common to many people with paralysis. The same is true for pain. It is obviously a worthwhile goal to reduce the incidence of skin and pain problems.

Depression is another secondary effect of disability – people with disabilities are twice as likely to report being sad as those without disabilities. Reduced social participation, lack of emotional support, inability to work, lack of recreation resources – these are conditions secondary to paralysis that must be addressed to assure the highest quality of life for all citizens, regardless of functional limitations.

Will there be a cure?

There has been great progress in recent years as scientists have unraveled the complicated biology of paralysis. There is indeed reason to hope for treatments and therapies in coming years that will restore significant function to people affected by paralysis.

It’s important to note that if by "cure" you mean full return to the way a person was before injury or disease, that may be asking more than the research can deliver – for now.

In the short term the cure is more likely to mean better bowel and bladder and perhaps sexual function for people with paralysis, reduced pain, improved breathing and/or hand function for quadriplegics. People with ALS may gain years of life; people with MS might have greater stamina and less frequent exacerbations. Some people may gain functional ambulation; some might even be able to toss out their wheelchairs.

The PRC is a branch of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to finding treatments for spinal cord disease and trauma. There is much work to do, but there is also great momentum toward the goal. For more on CDRF and its science program, click here.