LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Ability to detect history of falls among individuals with spinal cord injury using upper limb loading during a seated push-up test.

Photo from wikipedia

BACKGROUND A history of falls is an important risk factor for future falls, including for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who often experience falls and subsequent injuries. This may… Click to show full abstract

BACKGROUND A history of falls is an important risk factor for future falls, including for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who often experience falls and subsequent injuries. This may be even more pronounced during the current COVID-19 pandemic because of the extreme shortage of hospital admission and restricted access to important services. Therefore, the ability of detecting a history of falls that can be applied to wheelchair users and ambulatory individuals with SCI in various settings are essential. AIM To investigate the discriminative ability of three clinical measures-the handgrip (HG) test, Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) III and upper limb loading during a seated push-up test (ULL-SPUT)-in discriminating individuals with SCI with and without a history of falls over the past six months. DESIGN A six-month retrospective observational cohort study. SETTING Inpatient tertiary rehabilitation centre. POPULATION One hundred and fourteen wheelchair users and ambulatory individuals with SCI. METHODS The participants were interviewed and assessed for their demographics, SCI characteristics and fall data over the past six months, with data confirmation from related events, their caregivers and medical records. Subsequently, they were assessed using the HG test, SCIM III, and ULL-SPUT. RESULTS In total, 29 participants (25%) fell during the past six months (with the number of falls ranging from 1-20, with minor consequences after the falls). Among the three clinical measures assessed in this study, the ULL-SPUT data of faller participants were significantly higher than those of non-fallers (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The limited rehabilitation length and increased staying home and social isolation prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic may have reduced the fall rates of the participants. The findings suggest a higher likelihood of falls among wheelchair users and ambulatory individuals with SCI who have good mobility as determined using ULL-SPUT data. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT Apart from being an important rehabilitation strategy, the present findings suggest an additional benefit of upper limb loading during a seated push-up test to identify individuals with spinal cord injury with a likelihood of future falls. The measurement can be done easily using digital bathroom scales placing over a flat and smooth surface. Therefore, it would enable the timely initiation of fall prevention strategies in various clinical, community, home and research settings; particularly in this COVID-19 pandemic of limited beds and hospital services for these individuals.

Keywords: history falls; test; individuals spinal; spinal cord

Journal Title: European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine
Year Published: 2022

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.