ObjectivesStudying the quality of life of people with a spinal cord injury is of great importance as it allows the monitoring of both functioning and adaptation to disability. The aim of this study was to determine the difference between persons with a spinal cord injury involved in sports activities and those not involved in sports activities in relation to their quality of life and the presence of secondary health conditions (pressure ulcers, urinary infections, muscle spasms, osteoporosis, pain, kidney problems-infections, calculosis and poor circulation).MethodsThe study included a total of 44 participants with spinal cord injury-paraplegia of both genders; 26 of them were athletes and 18 were not athletes. The athletes were training actively for the last two years, minimally 2-3 times per week. A specially designed questionnaire, medical documentation and the Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Questionnaire (SCI QL-23) were used for research purposes. Chi-square test was used to analyze the differences between the groups, while multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine the differences between the sets of variables.ResultsAmong the participants, the athletes perceived higher quality of life than the non-athletes (male gender p<0.001 and female gender p<0.05). Regarding secondary health conditions, the athletes reported the presence of less pain (p=0.034) and a subjective feeling of better circulation (p=0.023).ConclusionThe implementation of sports activities significantly improves quality of life in the population of people with spinal cord injury-paraplegia. However, sports activities only partially affect secondary health conditions.

By prevention of risk factors, and prevention of possible cognitive impairment, consequences of stroke can be reduced, the recovery can be made more successful, and quality of life can be improved.

It is considered that cognitive function and attention could affect walking, motion control, and proper conduct during the walk. To determine whether there is a difference in the quality of attention and cognitive ability in stroke patients and patients without neurological damage of similar age and education and to determine whether the connection of attention and cognition affects motor skills, the sample consisted of 50 stroke patients tested with hemiparesis, involved in the process of rehabilitation, and 50 persons, randomly chosen, without neurological damage. The survey used the following tests: Trail Making (TMT A B) test for assessing the flexibility of attention; Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for cognitive status; Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) test to assess the functional status and parameters of walk: speed, frequency, and length of stride; STEP test for assessing the precision of movement and balance. With stroke patients, relationship between age and performance on the MMSE test was marginally significant. The ratio of performance to TMT A B test and years does not indicate statistical significance, while statistical significance between the MMSE test performance and education exists. In stroke patients, performance on MMSE test is correlated with the frequency and length of stride walk. The quality of cognitive function and attention is associated with motor skills but differs in stroke patients and people without neurological damage of similar age. The significance of this correlation can supplement research in neurorehabilitation, improve the quality of medical rehabilitation, and contribute to efficient recovery of these patients.

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