Spinal injuries in Australia 2020-21

Falls, followed by contact with objects were the two most common causes of hospitalisations across all injuries in 2020-21 (AIHW 2023b). Falls were similarly the leading cause of spinal injury hospitalisations (56% or 14,800 cases) followed by transport (31% or 8,100 cases).  

Spinal injury hospitalisations contributed to 6% of fall-related injury hospitalisations and 12% of transport-related injury hospitalisations overall.

For fall related spinal injury hospitalisations:

• Among females, 2 in 3 spinal injury hospitalisations were due to a fall (63%). This proportion is higher than the proportion of all female injury hospitalisations due to falls (52%).
• Among males, half of spinal injury hospitalisations were due to a fall (50%). This proportion is higher than the proportion of all male injury hospitalisations due to falls (34%).
• The most frequently recorded activity at time of fall was while resting, sleeping, eating or engaging in other vital activities (13%), followed by while engaged in other types of work (11%). For the majority, activity at time of fall was unspecified or missing in hospital records (63%).
• Falls involving beds contributed to 52% of fall injury hospitalisations occurring while resting, sleeping, eating or engaging in other vital activities.

For transport related spinal injury hospitalisations:

• Forty-four percent of all transport related spinal injury hospitalisations involved car occupants and 20% involved motorcyclists, followed by pedal cyclists (13%) and pedestrians (6%). These proportions are higher than the proportions of car and motorcyclist hospitalisations due to transport related injuries overall (31% and 25%, respectively).
• Sixty-three percent of spinal injury hospitalisations due to transport related causes were in males.

Figure 5: Proportion of spinal injury hospitalisations, by cause, 2020–21

References

AIHW (2023) Injury in Australia, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 25 August 2023.