ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVES: To assess the interrater reliability and validity of the test-table-test (TTT) with which paralympic sports participants involved in Nordic sit-ski sports may be classified. SETTING: Movement laboratory in a rehabilitation centre, The Netherlands. METHODS: Thirty-three persons with a spinal cord injury caudally to Th2, a leg amputation, poliomyelitis affecting the trunk and/or lower extremities, or cerebral palsy participated. Subjects were classified according to a classification system for Nordic skiing (that is, five subclasses between LW10 and LW12) by two raters, involving, among others, a combination of four balance tests called TTT. The validity of the TTT was investigated using a gold standard, involving balance perturbation tests on a force plate and centre of pressure (CoP) displacement measurements. RESULTS: As for the interrater reliability, Spearman's rank-correlation coefficient was 0.95 (P<0.001). As regards the validity of the TTT, correlation coefficients ranging from 0.61 to 0.74 (P<0.001) were found when comparing the data with the gold standard. CONCLUSION: Interrater reliability was high in both scoring and classification. With regard to TTT validity, strong positive correlations between CoP displacement and TTT classification were found. Overall, the results of this study show that the TTT is a reliable and valid test. However, the relations between TTT and CoP displacement in the LW10 and LW10.5 subclasses found in this study are somewhat vague, which could be due to the small number of participants in these subclasses. For the LW10 and LW10.5 subclasses further refinement of the four tests within the TTT is warranted.
Subject(s)
Paralysis/diagnosis , Paralysis/epidemiology , Skiing/injuries , Spinal Cord Injuries , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Cross-Sectional Studies , Disability Evaluation , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Netherlands , Reproducibility of Results , Severity of Illness Index , Spinal Cord Injuries/classification , Spinal Cord Injuries/epidemiology , Spinal Cord Injuries/etiology , Statistics, Nonparametric , Young AdultABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVE: To compare exercise-related self-perceptions in persons with complete and incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) and to identify factors that explain the variance of perceived exercise mastery in the study population. SETTING: Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital and the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway. METHODS: A total of 116 respondents (47 persons with complete and 69 persons with incomplete SCI) answered a questionnaire measuring self-rated physical exercise habits and self-perceptions in exercise. Respondents with complete SCI performed a max test on an arm ergometer. RESULTS: Exercisers with complete SCI reported a significantly higher perceived exercise mastery (P=0.002) and exercisers with incomplete SCI reported a significantly lower perceived exercise mastery (P=0.012) than nonexercisers. Exercisers in both groups reported a higher perceived fitness (complete SCI, P=0.016; incomplete SCI, P=0.004) than nonexercisers. A regression analysis showed that exercising versus nonexercising (exercise status) was the only variable that contributed to the variance in perceived exercise mastery for persons with complete SCI (P<0.001). For persons with incomplete injury, exercise status and exercise hours per week contributed to the variance in perceived exercise mastery. CONCLUSION: Although perceived fitness is associated with exercise in the whole SCI population, perception of exercise mastery is negatively related to exercise in persons with incomplete SCI, in contrast to those with complete lesions.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Attitude to Health , Exercise Therapy/psychology , Self-Assessment , Spinal Cord Injuries/psychology , Spinal Cord Injuries/rehabilitation , Activities of Daily Living/psychology , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Exercise Therapy/methods , Female , Health Behavior , Health Status , Health Surveys , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Compliance/psychology , Patient Compliance/statistics & numerical data , Perception , Physical Fitness/psychology , Physical Therapy Modalities/psychology , Physical Therapy Modalities/statistics & numerical data , Quality of Life/psychology , Spinal Cord/pathology , Spinal Cord/physiopathology , Spinal Cord Injuries/physiopathology , Trauma Severity Indices , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the role of physical exercise, perceived exercise mastery and fitness on life satisfaction of a sample of individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital and the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway. METHODS: A questionnaire measuring life satisfaction, self-rated physical exercise and self-perceptions were mailed to persons with incomplete SCI. RESULTS: In total, 100 questionnaires were sent out and 69 respondents were included in the study. Of those, 68% performed physical activity regularly once or more a week. Participants who were exercising regularly once a week or more scored significantly higher on the summed life satisfaction scale (P=0.002) and on perceived fitness (P=0.004), but significantly lower on perceived exercise mastery (P=0.012) than those who were non-exercisers. CONCLUSION: Participants in this study with incomplete SCI who exercised regularly experienced a significantly higher life satisfaction and perceived exercise fitness, but lower perceived exercise mastery than their inactive peers. Perceived exercise fitness was the psychological variable that contributed meaningfully to life satisfaction in this study.
