1) Pre-event:
a) Human :Education and training on safety measures: According to the data from the CDC, 25% of the motor vehicles crashes are associated with alcohol intoxication. Educating the drivers and passnegers regarding alcohol and driving and also enforcing stringent laws for those, who drink and drive, may decrease the incidence of the motor vehicle crahses (7).
b) Vehicle: Decreasing the force of impact on the spinal cord by inventing new safety measures in transportation vehicles, may be another good approach. The invention of front air bags and side air bags to prevent the injuries to the neck, face and chest has decreased the incidence of injuriesto these sites. Recently Ford and Lexus came up with a new reconfigured curve-shaped tether system, which is supposed to decrease the incidence of whiplash injuries (8).
c) Environment :Increasing the safety of the roads by decreasing sharp objects and turns,and increasing the visibility of the roads would decrease the number of crashes and SCI's.
2) Event:
a) Human: Spinal cord is protected by a stracture of verterbral bones, which needs much higher impact of energy to get fractured or injured. So increasing the strength of the bones in the elderly by treating or preventing osteoporosis decreases the incidence of the SCI's.
b) Vehicle: Decreasing the force of impact to the spinal cord by interposing material such as Thorax Abdomen Pelvis (TAP) side airbags for drivers and front passengers and Whiplash Injury Lessening (WIL) front seats and headrests will decrease the risk of SCI's.
c) Environment: Road safety measures such as collapasible side walls, avoiding sharp turns, sharp objects, flammable buidings, ditches and valleys, poorly designed guard rails can be used to decrease the degree of energy transfer from the environment to the victim at the time of impact.
3) Post Event:
a) Human: Improvement in medical emergency services and paramedic teams helps in delivering first aid, at the scene and helps to decrease the complications of an unstable vertebral column such as spinal cord injury. As stablization of the vertebral column is the best preventive measure for SCI's and early transportation to the hospital limitscomplications such as bleeding and swelling of the spinal cord.
b) Vehicle: Non collapsible vehicles and accessibility to easily evacuvate the driver and the passenger after the incident saves time and helps in early transfer of the victim to the hospital for early and appropriate treatment.
c) Environment: Improvement and accessiblity of evacuation services and hospital transport, helps in decreasing the impact and complications from the incident and reducing the number of secondary accidents occurring after the primary one.
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