Determining priorities in functional rehabilitation related to quality of life one-year following a traumatic spinal cord injury.

Context/

Objective

To determine the relationship between the different functional aspects (as determined by the Spinal Cord Independence Measure) and quality of life (QOL) following a traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI), considering clinical confounding factors.

Design

Retrospective review of a prospective cohortSetting: A single Level-1 trauma center specialized in SCI careParticipants: One hundred and forty-two individuals sustaining an acute traumatic SCIInterventions: Not applicableOutcome measures: The four QOL domains as assessed by the WHOQoL-bref questionnaire 6-12 months following a TSCI.

Results

Mobility subscore was the only functional aspect significantly associated with all QOL domains (physical, psychological, social and environmental). Females present better chronic social and environmental QOL when compared to males. The level of injury may also influence environmental QOL.

Conclusion

Mobility training (mobility in bed, mobility with or without technical aids, transfers and stair management) should be an important part of the rehabilitation process in order to optimize chronic QOL following a TSCI.