Changes in the incidence, cause and severity of cervical spinal cord injuries over the last 30 years and the implications for biomedical research - lessons learnt from the Tetragrip project.

The Tetragrip project to restore hand function for people with tetraplegia highlighted that participant recruitment was far more difficult than when we undertook similar work 25 years ago. Further investigation showed that over those 25 years people sustaining spinal cord injuries were older, their injuries were less severe and more likely to be as the result of a fall rather than a road traffic accident. This has major implications, not only for research, but also for clinical services.