Volume 89, Issue 11 , Pages 2094-2101, November 2008
A Prospective Study on Physical Activity Levels After Spinal Cord Injury During Inpatient Rehabilitation and the Year After Discharge
Abstract
van den Berg-Emons RJ, Bussmann JB, Haisma JA, Sluis TA, van der Woude LH, Bergen MP, Stam HJ. A prospective study on physical activity levels after spinal cord injury during inpatient rehabilitation and the year after discharge.
Objectives
To assess the change over time in the physical activity level after a spinal cord injury (SCI), to explore its determinants, and to compare the physical activity level 1 year after discharge from the rehabilitation center with the level in able-bodied persons.
Design
Prospective cohort study. Measurements were obtained at the start of active rehabilitation, 3 months later, at discharge, 2 months after discharge, and 1 year after discharge.
Setting
Rehabilitation center in The Netherlands and the participant's home.
Participants
Persons (n=40) with SCI.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
The physical activity level, as indicated by the duration of dynamic activities (ie, wheelchair driving, walking, cycling, noncyclic movement) per day, and the intensity of everyday activity; both were measured with an accelerometry-based activity monitor during 2 consecutive weekdays.
Results
Random coefficient analyses showed that the duration of dynamic activities and the intensity of everyday activity increased during inpatient rehabilitation at rates of 41% and 19%, respectively (P<.01). Shortly after discharge, there was a strong decline (33%; P<.001) in the duration of dynamic activities. One year after discharge, this decline was restored to the discharge level but was low in comparison with levels in able-bodied persons. The level of lesion and completeness of lesion were determinants of the change in the physical activity level after discharge.
Conclusions
The physical activity level increased during inpatient rehabilitation, but this increase did not continue after discharge, and the level 1 year after discharge was distinctly lower than the level in able-bodied persons. Subpopulations had a different change over time in the physical activity level after discharge.
Key Words: Activities of daily living, Rehabilitation, Spinal cord injuries
List of Abbreviations: ASIA, American Spinal Injury Association, SCI, spinal cord injury
Supported by the Johanna Child Fund and Child Fund Adriaanstichting (grant no. 2002/0067) and ZONmw Rehabilitation program (grant no. 1435.0003).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Reprints are not available from the author.
PII: S0003-9993(08)00799-5
doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2008.04.024
© 2008 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 89, Issue 11 , Pages 2094-2101, November 2008
