Study of Walking Ability in Patients with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Cross-sectional study.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Priyaranjan; Wadhwa, R. K.; Mathew, Annie; Badhal, Suman
- Source
- Journal of Pharmaceutical Negative Results. 2022 Special Issue 7, Vol. 13, p1969-1975. 7p.
- Subject
- Language
- ISSN
- 0976-9234
Introduction: Recovery of ambulation is one of the main goals after SCI and has become the target of several pharmacological and rehabilitative approaches. Therefore, evaluating the natural recovery of walking and the prognostic factors influencing this function is mandatory for planning rehabilitation programs. Objective: To study the walking ability in patients with spinal cord injury using the Ten-meter walk test and Walking Index for Spinal cord injury II (WISCI) scale and to correlate it with respect to the neurological level of injury and the ASIA Impairment Scale. Method: This is a prospective observational cross-sectional study conducted over a period of 2 years in a tertiary-level hospital in Northern India. Walking ability in patients with chronic spinal cord injury was assessed using the WISCI II scale and a ten-meter walk test. Walking ability was correlated with the neurological level of injury and the AIS category of patients. Result: Males outnumbered females in the study, with a ratio of 3.6:1. The most common mode of injury was fall from height (56.8%). The majority of patients (60.78%) had an injury at the lower thoracic level, and a maximum number of patients had a severity of ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) A (74.5%). Patients with injury at lower thoracic and lumbar levels showed better average velocity during the 10m Walk Test (10mWT) and better walking ability on the WISCI II scale. Similarly, patients who had AIS C and AIS D levels of severity exhibited better walking ability. Conclusion: The study found that patients who had lower thoracic and lumbar levels of injury had the better walking ability. Similar patients with AIS C and AIS D levels had better walking ability than AIS A and AIS B categories. The study also highlights that the neurological level of injury and severity of injury are prognostic predictors of walking ability in patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]