Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are complex neurotraumatic wounds affecting military service members, their families, veterans, and the general population. These are serious injuries with long-term consequences requiring lifelong care. There are over 300,000 individuals living with an SCI, and this number continues to grow as over 18,000 new cases occur in the U.S. each year. Between 2000 and 2009, during the height of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rate of SCI in the military was nearly eight times that of the civilian population. As a result, the Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest single SCI care network, providing services for approximately 20% of all individuals living with an SCI in the U.S.  

The Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) was established by Congress in fiscal year 2009 (FY09), in part as a response to the high rates of SCI observed in warfighters returning home from duty. The Congressional intent was to establish a program to enhance the long-term care of wounded soldiers. The entire $40 million for SCIRP funding was eliminated for fiscal year 2025. These funds helped to:

• Preserve and protect spinal cord tissue at time of injury for improved neurologic outcomes
• Identify and validate biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and for evaluation of treatment efficacies
• Develop, test, and validate promising interventions to address bowel, genitourinary, neuropathic pain, cardiopulmonary or autonomic dysfunction across the life span of people with SCI
• Investigate psychosocial issues relevant to people with SCI, their families, and/or their care partners across the lifespan
• Focus on rehabilitation and regeneration-maximizing the function of the residual neural circuitry, including harnessing neuroplasticity and recovery to improve function after SCI
   

Take action now to restore these critical research and development investments guided by the vision to advance the treatment and management of SCI for military service members, veterans, their families, as well as all individuals living with SCI.