400 Section - Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Outcomes in Older and Younger Adults in Canada: A National Comparison with a New Brunswick Subgroup Analysis

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM PT

Presenting Author/Autor expositor(s)

NR

Nicholas D. Rushton, BSc

Medical Student
Dalhousie University
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Co-Author/Coautor(s)

Colleen O'Connell, MD (she/her/hers)

Professor and Medical Director
Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine and Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
SM

Shane McCullum, MS

Clinical Research Manager
Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
LC

Lauren Casey, BSc

Research Assistant
Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Objectives : Traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) is a life-altering cause of disability in Canada. With Canada’s aging population, older adults now make up a growing proportion of new cases. The primary aim of this study was to compare clinical and functional outcomes between geriatric patients (≥61 years) and non-geriatric patients (≤60 years) using national data from the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry (RHSCIR).

Design:

This retrospective cohort study used RHSCIR data from January 2011 to December 2023. The study included 5,229 participants, of which 1,539 were geriatric patients. Outcomes were described using means, medians, and proportions to compare differences between age groups.

Results:

Falls were the leading cause of injury in older adults (73.7%), while transport-related injuries were most common in younger patients (38.5%). Older patients more often presented with incomplete tetraplegia (67.8% vs. 32.6%) and high cervical injuries (39.7% vs. 25%). Pressure injuries before admission were frequent in both groups (60.7% vs. 58.2%), and new injuries during rehabilitation were similar. Functional independence improved during rehabilitation across both age groups. Clinician-reported SCIM scores increased from a mean of 36 at admission to 64 at discharge in younger patients, and from 32 to 61 in older patients. Patient-reported scores showed a comparable pattern. Time to rehabilitation admission (43 vs. 44 days) and length of stay (94 vs. 89 days) were also similar.

Conclusion: Older adults were more likely to be injured by falls and sustain incomplete tetraplegia and high cervical injuries, but both age groups demonstrated meaningful gains over rehabilitation. These findings highlight the importance of fall prevention in older adults and show that rehabilitation supports functional recovery across ages.