Risk of Fall-Related Injuries among Ambulatory Participants with Spinal Cord Injury

With medical and rehabilitation advances, many people are able to regain or maintain ambulation after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, those who are ambulatory may be at increased risk for falls.

To assess the relationships between walking devices and behaviors, including alcohol use, prescription medication use, and exercise, with falls among persons with SCI who are ambulatory.

A total of 515 adults with chronic SCI who were able to ambulate provided self-report of their use of assistive devices for ambulation, prescription medication use, alcohol use, exercise, and falls resulting in injury (FRI).

At least 1 FRI was reported by 20.3% of participants in the past year. Ambulatory participants who reported using a wheelchair as their primary mode of mobility were less likely to have an FRI than those who reported walking more than using a wheelchair. Those with perceived poor balance were 2.41 times more likely to have an FRI than those without poor balance. Those who reported less exercise than other persons with a comparable SCI severity were 2.77 times more likely to have an FRI than those reporting the same or more amount of exercise. Pain medication misuse also was associated with higher odds of an FRI.

Health care providers should be aware of the risk for FRI among those who are ambulatory. They should assess and consider not only ambulatory ability, but also behaviors, including prescription medication use and exercise, when recommending ambulation techniques.