IMPACT OF ACTIVE REHABILITATION ON WHEELCHAIR DISTANCE IN MEN WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY AT THE CERVICAL OR THORACIC LEVELS

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Active Rehabilitation (AR) on wheelchair distance in men with spinal cord injury (SCI) at the cervical or thoracic levels. The research group consisted of 30 men with cervical or thoracic SCI. All the participants completed the "1st level" rehabilitation camp in Spała (12 days). A modified Cooper test was used twice: the day before and the day after the AR camp. AR had increased the distance covered in a wheelchair in men with thoracic (18%) and cervical (29%) SCI. The percentage of change in the Cooper test result due to AR has a statistically significant dependency on the degree of impairment of spinal cord function according to the ASIA scale (parametric test: p=0.0131, nonparametric test p=0.0018). The level of SCI does not significantly differentiate this variable (parametric test: p=0.3418, nonparametric test p=0.0673). Contrary to expectations, men with SCI at cervical level improved more, which suggests that AR is a valuable therapeutic component in the rehabilitation of patients with SCI. The wheelchair distance improvement due to AR depends more on the degree of impairment of the spinal cord function than on the level of the SCI itself.