Evaluation of functionality in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury

Background. In order to develop a better picture in the earlier stages of rehabilitation of the functional possibilities of patients with plegia and paresis resulting from spinal damage, the authors have developed a simple functionality scale, involving primarily motor and locomotive capacity.
Material and methods. We analyzed the progress in rehabilitation of 31 patients with plegia or paresis subsequent to spinal cord injury, treated in the Rehabilitation Clinic at the Poznan Academy of Medicine. The evaluation was performad 6-12 months after the injury on a 22-point scale developed for patients with spinal cord injury, dealing with basic motor and locomotor capacity. The results obtained were used to calculate the "functionality index", where full functionality, i.e. 44 points, is treated as 1.0.
Results. The results indicated that the best progress in rehabilitation was achieved by young patients with damage on lower levels and with better initial condition.
Conclusions. The application of this simple scale to assess functionality makes it possible to verify objectively the results in relation to the potential indicated by the level of spinal trauma. It also contributes to better patient motivation and active inclusion in the rehabilitation process.