Comparison of perceived disability and functional independence in individuals with spinal cord injury athletes and non-athletes

ABSTRACT Functional impairment in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) generate secondary complications, with preponderant physical deconditioning and an exacerbation of injury complications. The objective was to evaluate the perceived disability and functional independence in athletes and non-athletes with SCI. The WHODAS 2.0 and SCIM III questionnaires were applied to 37 volunteers with SCI and their sociodemographic data were collected. The total scores of WHODAS 2.0 and SCIM III of individuals with thoracic SCI and cervical SCI were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. Regarding the perceived disability, a significant difference was found in WHODAS 2.0 among athletes and non-athletes with thoracic SCI. As to functional independence, no significant differences were found between groups in SCIM III. Although the sports practice promotes health benefits, no significant differences were found in the group of individuals with cervical SCI, which can be explained by these individual’s higher degree of motor impairment.

摘要 脊髓损伤（spinal cord injury, SCI）患者的功能缺损会引发继发并发症，主要表现为显著的躯体机能减退与损伤相关并发症加重。本研究旨在评估脊髓损伤运动员与非运动员群体的感知残疾程度与功能独立性水平。研究纳入37名脊髓损伤受试者，采用世界卫生组织残疾评定量表2.0（WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0, WHODAS 2.0）与脊髓损伤功能独立性量表Ⅲ（Spinal Cord Independence Measure III, SCIM III）进行评估，并收集其社会人口学数据。采用曼-惠特尼U检验（Mann-Whitney test）比较胸段脊髓损伤与颈段脊髓损伤受试者的WHODAS 2.0与SCIM III总评分。在感知残疾程度方面，胸段脊髓损伤的运动员与非运动员群体的WHODAS 2.0评分存在显著差异；而就功能独立性而言，两组受试者的SCIM III评分未发现显著差异。尽管体育运动可带来健康获益，但颈段脊髓损伤群体未出现上述差异，这可归因于该群体更高的运动功能受损程度。