I heard on the news about a bunch of different guys who fell out of a tree stand while hunting and ended up paralyzed. How in the world does something like this happen?

Neck and back injuries leading to spinal cord damage is actually more common than you might think. Falling from a hunting tree stand is not uncommon. In fact, tree stand falls has been identified as one of the leading hunting-related injuries in the U.S. One spinal cord center in Philadelphia alone reported 22 cases over a 10-year period of time.

The factors linked with this kind of injury are many and varied. Although alcohol is a key risk factor, only two of the 22 cases in this particular study were alcohol-related. Cold temperatures and poorly dressed hunters can lead to hypothermia as a possible complicating factor.

Accidents often occur in the evening hours when the light is gone making it easy to misjudge the confines of the tree stand. A safety harness isn't always used when it should be. And finally, proper installation and annual inspections of the tree stand are often neglected. Many elevated tree stands are homemade with improper stabilization.

Most of these injuries are preventable. Hunter safety education should include an emphasis on eliminating the various risk factors presented here. The time between injury and treatment is very important in the final outcome. Hunters should always use the buddy system and check on each other periodically. This will help avoid unnecessary delays in recognizing an emergency situation.