Postural control and fear of falling in persons with low-level paraplegia

Falls are prevalent reasons for spinal cord injury (SCI). Postinjury fear of falling (FOF) can affect rehabilitation potential. We quantified FOF in 15 men with paraplegia (ambulatory with bilateral knee-ankle-foot orthoses [KAFOs] and elbow crutches) in correlation with their postural control at the center for long-term SCI rehabilitation of a tertiary-care teaching hospital. Our outcome measures comprised the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale, the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), postural sway measurements in the anteroposterior and mediolateral directions; and walking speed, cadence, and endurance. We assessed FOF with the MFES followed by measuring postural sway with a force platform. We measured gait parameters by asking the participant to ambulate on an indoor pathway. The mean postural sway was 314.13 +/- 184.05 mm (mean +/- standard deviation) in the anteroposterior direction and 222.16 +/- 112.34 mm in the mediolateral direction. The MFES score was 41.29 +/- 12.77, which showed a statistically significant negative correlation with postural control. The self-perception of confidence as measured by MFES might not really represent the actual postural stability in individuals with low-level paraplegia. FOF can adversely affect the postural control of individuals with low-level paraplegia. Clinicians should consider FOF as an influential factor in postural control during rehabilitation.