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Employee And Union Rights
Fighting For
Employee And Union Rights

Study: sleep problems very common for spine injury victims

On Behalf of | Jan 22, 2014 | Social Security Disability Benefits for Injuries

When it comes to the impacts a spinal cord injury can have on a person, the first one that likely comes to mind is paralysis. It is important to note however that paralysis is, by far, not the only life-changing thing a person can face in relation to a spinal cord injury. Such injuries can be impactful on a person in many different ways.

A recent study indicates that one thing a spinal cord injury can affect is a person’s ability to sleep well.

The study was a relatively small one; it had just 26 subjects. All of the subjects were spinal cord injury sufferers. A little over half of them had cervical injuries and the rest had thoracic injuries.

The study’s researchers found that poor sleep quality was something that a vast majority, 92 percent, of the subjects experienced. The researchers further found that a large number of the subjects, 77 percent, had breathing-related sleep problems, such as central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea.

Thus, the study’s results indicate that there may be a link between spinal cord injuries and sleep problems.

When looking at the results of any study, it is important to consider the study’s limitations. One limitation this study has is its small size. It will be very interesting to see if larger studies are conducted on the topic of spinal cord injuries and sleep problems and if such studies yield results similar to the ones in this study.

Sometimes, the impacts of a spinal cord injury will make it so a person is unable to hold a job. Individuals whose ability to work has been impacted by a spinal cord injury may have many questions, including: do I qualify for Social Security Disability benefits? Experienced disability attorneys can help spinal cord injury victims with their questions and can help individuals with qualifying injuries apply for Social Security Disability benefits.

Source: The Huffington Post, “Sleep Apnea Common Among Spinal Cord Injury Patients: Study,” Jan. 16, 2014

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