Level of physical activity prior to injury and its impact on functioning of people with spinal cord injury
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/Keywords:
Spinal Cord Injury, Physical Performance, Rehabilitation.Abstract
The activity level of a person with spinal cord
injury (SCI) can influence their functioning, independence and
autonomy. This study aimed to evaluate the level of physical
activity prior to SCI and its relationship with the individual’s
functioning after hospital discharge. This is a quantitative,
longitudinal, and analytical study with individuals diagnosed
with traumatic SCI, with injury time ≤18 months, aged over
18 years old, hospitalized for rehabilitation. The following instruments were used: identification, sociodemographic profile
and medical history questionnaire, international physical activity
questionnaire (IPAQ-Short Form) and the spinal cord independence
measure – self-reported version questionnaire (brSCIM-SR). Sample
was composed of 35 subjects with average age of 41.9 years, mostly
males, classified as complete SCI (AIS A grade). Individuals with
SCI showed a significant improvement in functioning at discharge
from the rehabilitation program. Most individuals were classified as
active, when correlating the level of physical activity prior to injury
with functional level at discharge. A moderate positive correlation
was found between physical activity prior to the injury and the
functional level after the injury, suggesting that an active life prior
to the injury may favor better functioning in SCI.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jordana Batista da Silva Lima, Thais Passos de Oliveira Guimarães, Katarine Souza Costa, Thatiana Moreira de Paiva, Francine Aguilera Rodrigues da Silva, Hernani Camilo Valinote, Graziella França Bernardelli Cipriano, Letícia de Araújo Morais
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