Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
10:39
Longitudinal Evaluation of Mouse Hind Limb Bone Loss After Spinal Cord Injury using Novel, in vivo, Methodology
Published on: December 7, 2011
Longitudinal changes in adjustment after spinal cord injury: a 15-year study
1Shephard Spinal Center, Atlanta, GA 30309.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
|June 1, 1992
Summary
Longitudinal research indicates that adjustment after spinal cord injury (SCI) improves over time. Participants showed increased education, better financial satisfaction, and fewer hospitalizations 15 years post-injury.
Area of Science:
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Previous research on adjustment after spinal cord injury (SCI) yielded conflicting findings.
- Cross-sectional studies suggested age negatively impacts adjustment, while time since injury improves it.
- Longitudinal studies indicated limited positive adjustment changes over 11 years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term stability of adjustment over a 15-year period following SCI.
- To identify specific areas of life adjustment that change or remain stable over time post-SCI.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study involving 135 participants with SCI.
- Participants completed the Life Situation Questionnaire (LSQ) in 1974 and again in 1989.
- Statistical analysis using t-tests compared adjustment scales and individual items between the two time points.
Main Results:
- Significant positive changes in adjustment were observed over 15 years.
- Improvements included increased sitting tolerance, more years of education, and greater satisfaction with finances and employment.
- A higher percentage of individuals were working, and there were decreases in hospitalizations and days hospitalized.
Conclusions:
- Adjustment after spinal cord injury (SCI) is not only stable but tends to improve significantly over a 15-year period.
- Long-term follow-up suggests positive life trajectory changes for individuals with SCI.
- Findings challenge earlier notions of declining adjustment with time post-injury.
Related Concept Videos
02:20Longitudinal Research
Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
01:14Spinal Cord Injury ll: Pathophysiology
Spinal cord injury progresses through two interconnected phases: primary injury and secondary injury.Primary InjuryPrimary injury happens at the moment of trauma and involves immediate mechanical damage to the spinal cord.Compression happens when broken vertebrae, herniated discs, or accumulating blood (such as a hematoma) press directly against the spinal cord, distorting its normal shape and function. In cases of contusion, the cord is bruised by a blunt force (like penetrating injuries or...
01:25Secondary Spinal Cord Injury llI: Pathophysiology
Early Ischemia and Ionic ImbalanceWithin minutes of spinal cord injury, a secondary cascade begins, progressing over hours to weeks. Vascular damage reduces blood flow, causing ischemia and mitochondrial dysfunction. ATP depletion leads to ion pump failure, membrane depolarization, sodium influx, potassium efflux, and water accumulation, resulting in cellular swelling. Increased intracellular calcium further disrupts mitochondria and accelerates cellular injury.Excitotoxicity and Neuronal...