Abstract
Objective
To characterize individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) who use outpatient physical
therapy or community wellness services for locomotor training and predict the duration
of services, controlling for demographic, injury, quality of life, and service and
financial characteristics. We explore how the duration of services is related to locomotor
strategy.
Design
Observational study of participants at 4 SCI Model Systems centers with survival.
Weibull regression model to predict the duration of services.
Setting
Rehabilitation and community wellness facilities at 4 SCI Model Systems centers.
Participants
Eligibility criteria were SCI or dysfunction resulting in motor impairment and the
use of physical therapy or community wellness programs for locomotor/gait training.
We excluded those who did not complete training or who experienced a disruption in
training greater than 45 days. Our sample included 62 participants in conventional
therapy and 37 participants in robotic exoskeleton training.
Interventions
Outpatient physical therapy or community wellness services for locomotor/gait training.
Main Outcome Measures
SCI characteristics (level and completeness of injury) and the duration of services
from medical records. Self-reported perceptions of SCI consequences using the SCI-Functional
Index for basic mobility and SCI-Quality of Life measurement system for bowel difficulties,
bladder difficulties, and pain interference.
Results
After controlling for predictors, the duration of services for the conventional therapy
group was an average of 63% longer than for the robotic exoskeleton group, however
each visit was 50% shorter in total time. Men had an 11% longer duration of services
than women had. Participants with complete injuries had a duration of services that
was approximately 1.72 times longer than participants with incomplete injuries. Perceived
improvement was larger in the conventional group.
Conclusions
Locomotor/gait training strategies are distinctive for individuals with SCI using
a robotic exoskeleton in a community wellness facility as episodes are shorter but
individual sessions are longer. Participants’ preferences and the ability to pay for
ongoing services may be critical factors associated with the duration of outpatient
services.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
AIS (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale), CI (credible interval), OR (odds ratio), PT (physical therapy), SCI (spinal cord injury), SCI-FI (Spinal Cord Injury-Functional Index), SCI-QOL (Spinal Cord Injury-Quality of Life)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 11, 2021
Accepted:
July 2,
2021
Received in revised form:
May 17,
2021
Received:
December 31,
2020
Footnotes
Supported by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research provided funding through the Midwest Regional SCI Model System (90SI5009), the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System (90SI5015), the Southeastern Regional Spinal Cord Injury Model System at Shepherd Center (90SI5016), and the Texas Model Spinal Cord Injury System at TIRR Memorial Hermann (90SI5027).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
