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  Physical Disability

Core information

What causes physical disability?

• spinal injury
• amputation
• acquired brain injury affecting motor skills and limb control

Medical conditions such as: 

• cerebral palsy
• spina bifida
• muscular dystrophy/atrophy
• multiple sclerosis
• nervous system diseases
• circulatory diseases
• respiratory diseases
• arthritis 
• other musculo-skeletal disorders
• head injury/stroke
• post-polio syndrome
• inherited conditions passed on genetically (for example limb deficiency)
• exposure to drugs or chemicals during pregnancy (for example, thalidomide)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that in 1993, 2,251,200 people or about 12.8 percent of the Australian population had a "physical" disability.

Spinal injury

Spinal injury is usually the result of an accident (for example, car, diving, pedestrian or sports). The vertebra of the spine are displaced or crushed, which injures the spinal cord or the spinal column. Damage is often permanent and irreversible.

When the spinal cord is damaged, the messages and signals to and from the brain cannot get through, resulting in paralysis, that is, loss of function and feeling of the area below the level of the injury. This usually means that the person will use a wheelchair. Muscle spasm in paralysed muscles is also common and often exacerbates the disability.

P A R A P L E G I A

If the spine is injured below the level of the neck the person is said to be paraplegic and will be paralysed to some degree in the legs and abdomen. Movement in the trunk and chest will depend on the height of the lesion.

Q U A D R I P L E G I A

If the neck is broken or the spine is injured in the cervical region, the arms also will be fully or partially paralysed. Hence all four limbs are affected and the person is said to be quadriplegic or tetraplegic. The chest muscles will also be affected and the person may have difficulty with breathing, coughing and clearing their chest.

A U TO N O M I C  PA R A L Y S I S

As well as parts of the nervous system that control movement and transmit sensation, the body has another system which controls the involuntary functions of internal organs and glands - the autonomic nervous system.

It is outside but close to and connected with, the spinal cord. Its messages control the bowel and bladder, male (but not female) sexual function, blood circulation and pressure and sweating. Damage to the spinal cord will usually affect the autonomic nervous system also. 

What causes spinal injury?

The major causes of spinal cord injuries can be divided into the following categories:

M O T O R   V E H I C L E   A C C I D E N TS
- 5 5 PE R C E N T

(motor car - 40 percent, motorbike - 15 percent)

Contributing factors include:

• not using seatbelts or using them incorrectly

• not using full face motorcycle helmets 

• driver inexperience

• alcohol

• speed 

• fatigue

• drugs

D I V I N G  A C C I D E N TS 
- 1 1 PE R C E N T

Contributing factors include:

• not checking the depth of the water before diving

• alcohol 

• submerged objects (rocks, logs, sandbanks and others)

• not making allowance for tidal changes in water depth

• not making allowance for body growth

F A L L S  A N D  C R U S H E S 
- 1 5 P E R C E N T

These injuries may occur as a result of:

• horse-riding 

• hang gliding

• trampolining

• skiing

Industrial accidents caused by:

• crushes and falls

• equipment failure

• inadequate safety precautions

S P O R T S 
- 8 PE RC E N T

Contributing factors may be:

• inappropriate physical build for position/sport

• rough play - head high tackles, "shirt- fronts" and similar behaviour

O T H E R  T R A U M A
 - 1 1 PE R C E N T

These may include:

• gunshot wounds

• physical abuse 

 I M P L I C AT I O N S  F O R  D A I LY L I V I N G

In order to live independently people with paraplegia and quadriplegia will need:

Housing

an accessible, well-adapted and suitably situated home where they can live on their own or with others of their choosing

Mobility and access

a wheelchair or walking aids, a vehicle or accessible taxi service, access to public transport and to places of work, study, leisure, shopping and other interests and/or necessities

Finance

sufficient income to pay for all the requirements for daily living, including the cost of services they cannot perform for themselves

Assistance

suitable personal assistance to do the tasks they cannot do for themselves

T I P S  F O R   G E T T I N G   A LO N G  W I T H  A
P E R S O N  W H O  U S E S   A  W H E E L C H A I R

• do not assume assistance is needed - ask

• accept the person's right to refuse help

• be aware of what is accessible and inaccessible to people in wheelchairs

• find out how to push a wheelchair, how to get up and down steps, how to tip it backwards, how to use the brake and how not to lift by the arm rests or the wheels

•  try sitting or crouching down to the approximate height of people in wheelchairs or scooters when you talk to them

• do not talk about the person as if they were not present

• do not ask personal questions about the disability or its origin until you know the person well enough

• do not rush the person

• do not be sensitive about using words like "walking" or "running". People in wheelchairs use the same words.

• do not lean on a person's wheelchair unless you have their permission - it is their personal space

• do not try to move the person or their wheelchair without their permission to do so. Give a push only when asked.