Rehabilitation outcomes in C6 tetraplegia

Abstract

SUlll lll aryThis study reports on the rehabilitation outcome of 69 C6 tetraplegic patients admitted to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago during an 8 year period. All patients' last normal level was C6 bilaterally. A 100�point modified Barthel Index was used to obtain measures of functional independence in 15 self�care and mobility tasks. The population consisted of 54 males and 15 females with an average age of 29· 2 years. The average number of days from injury to admission to the rehabilita tion unit was 58·6 and the average length of rehabilitation stay was 108·4 days.The average Modified Barthel Index score increased from 16·6 on admission to 50·1 on discharge. The Self-Care Subscore increased from 12·8 to 32· 2 and the Mobility subscore from 3· 7 to 17· 9. There were statistically significant increases in the number of patients able to perform all tasks except ability to don an orthosis and ability to walk 50 yards. This study documents a significant increase in function of C6 spinal cord injured patients during rehabilitation.

Relationship between motor FIM and muscle strength in lower cervical-level spinal cord injuries

“…Several investigators [28][29][30][31][32][33] have explored the relationship between the level of injury and predicted motor recovery finding that lower functioning neurological levels are associated with greater motor recovery. Others 1,[34][35][36] have established expected functional outcomes associated with neurological levels. The paralyzed veterans of America (PVA) related injury level to functional limitation as reflected in performance of motor FIM tasks.…”

Activity performance and upper extremity function in cervical spinal cord injury patients according to the Klein–Bell ADL Scale

“…However, this study was not large enough to investigate how sensory function adds to the variance of ADL performance explained by UEMS. Other factors such as gender, age, body mass and time since injury, 7,8 together with factors in the environment, 52 also influence the variance in the performance of ADL. These factors must be taken into consideration in the assessment of the cervical SCI patient's level of independence in ADL.…”

“…1,3 Important prerequisites for ADL are upper extremity function 4,5 and physical capacity. 6 Other important factors are age, gender, body mass, 7 physical fitness, 7,8 motivation, psychosocial status, medical complications 8 and sociocultural background. 9 Earlier studies 5,10 have shown that preserved motor level can predict the ability of patients with cervical SCI to become independent in ADL.…”

Three-dimensional measurement of rolling in tetraplegic patients

“…Therefore, motion becomes more di cult. 9 Tetraplegics whose level is C6 or higher cannot swing their upper limbs su ciently to roll. Paraplegic patients with thoracic or lumbar cord injury cannot push against the¯oor, either, to assist them in rotating, and therefore require more rotatomomentum in the upper part of the body in order to roll.…”