The longitudinal relationship between lipid profile and physical capacity in persons with a recent spinal cord injury.

Study design: A multicenter prospective cohort study. Objective: To determine the longitudinal relationship between physical capacity and lipid profile in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during and 1 year after rehabilitation. Setting: Eight Dutch rehabilitation centers with a specialized SCI unit. Methods: A total of 206 subjects with SCI (78 with tetraplegia) participated. The longitudinal relationship between lipid profiles (total cholesterol (TC), high- (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides (TG) and physical capacity (peak power output (POpeak), peak oxygen uptake (V

Demographics of the Dutch multicenter prospective cohort study 'Restoration of mobility in spinal cord injury rehabilitation'

Study design: A multicenter prospective cohort study. Objective: To compare the demographic data of the included population with other studied spinal cord injury (SCI) populations in the international literature. Setting: Eight Dutch rehabilitation centers with a specialized SCI unit. Methods: A total of 205 individuals with SCI participated in this study. Information about personal, lesion and rehabilitation characteristics were collected at the beginning of active rehabilitation by means of a questionnaire. Results: The research group mainly consisted of men (74%), of individuals with a paraplegia (59%), and had a complete lesion (68%). The SCI was mainly caused by a trauma (75%), principally due to a traffic accident (42%). The length of clinical rehabilitation varied between 2 months and more than a year, which seemed to be dependent on the lesion characteristics and related comorbidity. Conclusions: The personal and lesion characteristics of the subjects of the multi-center study were comparable to data of other studies, although fewer older subjects and subjects with an incomplete lesion were included due to the inclusion criteria'age' and 'wheelchair-dependent'. The length of stay in rehabilitation centers in The Netherlands was longer compared to Denmark but much longer than in eg Australia and the USA. © 2006 International Spinal Cord Society. All rights reserved

Upper extremity musculoskeletal pain during and after rehabilitation in wheelchair-using persons with a spinal cord injury

Study design: Prospective cohort study. Objectives: To study upper extremity musculoskeletal pain during and after rehabilitation in wheelchair-using subjects with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and its relation with lesion characteristics, muscle strength and functional outcome. Setting: Eight rehabilitation centers with an SCI unit in the Netherlands. Methods: Using a questionnaire, number, frequency and seriousness of musculoskeletal pain complaints of the upper extremity were measured. A pain score for the wrist, elbow and shoulder joints was calculated by multiplying the seriousness by the frequency of pain complaints. An overall score was obtained by adding the scores of the three joints of both upper extremities. Muscle strength was determined by manual muscle testing. The motor score of the functional independence measure provided a functional outcome. All outcomes were obtained at four test occasions during and 1 year after rehabilitation. Results: Upper extremity pain and shoulder pain decreased over time (30%) during the latter part of in-patient rehabilitation (P<0.001). Subjects with tetraplegia (TP) showed more musculoskeletal pain than subjects with paraplegia (PP) (P<0.001). Upper extremity pain and shoulder pain were significantly inversely related to functional outcome (P<0.001). Muscle strength was significantly inversely related to shoulder pain (P<0.001). Musculoskeletal pain at the beginning of rehabilitation and BMI were strong predictors for pain 1 year after in-patient rehabilitation (P<0.001). Conclusions: Subjects with TP are at a higher risk for upper extremity musculoskeletal pain and for shoulder pain than subjects with PP. Higher muscle strength and higher functional outcome are related to fewer upper extremity complaints. © 2006 International Spinal Cord Society All rights reserved