Thai translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Spinal Cord Injury Falls Concern Scale (SCI-FCS).

STUDY DESIGN: Translation and adaptation study. OBJECTIVES: To translate and cross culturally adapt the Spinal Cord Injury Falls Concern Scale (SCI-FCS) English version into Thai, and to examine content validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. SETTING: A tertiary rehabilitation center in Thailand. METHODS: The SCI-FCS was translated into Thai and culturally translated according to guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Content validity was examined by the Index of item-objective congruence (IOC). Moreover, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were tested by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) models (3, 1), respectively. RESULTS: Three items were modified to accommodate cultural differences. After synthesis and cross adaptation, the IOC was 1.0. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.88 (range 0.86-0.89) and the ICC of total scores was 0.99 (P < 0.001, range of the subitems 0.98-1). In addition, items that Thai participants scored as being the highest concern of falling were item 13: pushing wheelchair up/down gutters or curbs, item 14: pushing wheelchair up/down a slope, and item 12: pushing wheelchair on an uneven surface. CONCLUSIONS: The SCI-FCS-Thai version is a reliable and valid outcome measure for assessing concern about falling in wheelchair users with SCI in Thailand.

Visuotemporal cues clinically improved walking ability of ambulatory patients with spinal cord injury within 5 days.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The human movement system uses a variety of inputs to produce movements. The concurrent use of external information, specifically visutemporal cues, while walking could promote the walking ability of ambulatory patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). This study explored the use of visutemporal cues in rehabilitation training by subjecting ambulatory individuals with SCI to walking training with or without visuotemporal cues and then assessing the effects on their functional ability. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental study. SETTING: A tertiary rehabilitation center. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two participants were randomly assigned to the experimental or control groups using stage of injury, severity of SCI, and baseline walking ability as criteria for group arrangement (16 participants/group). INTERVENTIONS: The participants were trained to walk over level ground at their fastest safe speed with or without a visuotemporal cue, 30 minutes/day, for 5 consecutive days. OUTCOME MEASURES: The 10-meter walk test, 6-minute walk test, timed up and go test, and five times sit-to-stand test. RESULTS: The participants demonstrated significant improvement in all functional tests after the 5 days of training (P < 0.001). In addition, the improvement in the group trained using the visuotemporal cue was significantly better than that trained without using the cue. CONCLUSIONS: Most of these participants were at a chronic stage of SCI, so the findings supported a benefit for incorporating visuotemporal cues in rehabilitation practice, particularly today when the length of rehabilitation has dramatically decreased.

Effects of restrictive clothing on lumbar range of motion and trunk muscle activity in young adult worker manual material handling.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of wearing restrictive trousers on lumbar spine movement, trunk muscle activity and low back discomfort (LBD) in simulations of manual material handling (MMH) tasks. Twenty-eight young adults participated in the study performing box lifting, liquid container handling while squatting, and forward reaching while sitting on a task chair when wearing tight pants (sizes too small for the wearer) vs. fit pants (correct size according to anthropometry). Each task was repeated three times and video recordings were used as a basis for measuring lumbar range of motion (LRoM). The response was normalized in terms on baseline hip mobility. Trunk muscle activity of rectus abdominis (RA) and erector spinae (ES) muscles were also measured in each trial and normalized. At the close of each trial, participants rated LBD using a visual analog scale. Results revealed significant effects of both pants and task types on the normalized LRoM, trunk muscle activity and subjective ratings of LBD. The LRoM was higher and trunk muscle (ES) activity was lower for participants when wearing tight pants, as compared to fit pants. Discomfort ratings were significantly higher for tight pants than fit. These results provide guidance for recommendations on work clothing fit in specific types of MMH activities in order to reduce the potential of low-back pain among younger workers in industrial companies.