van der Westhuizen Linda, Mothabeng Diphale J, Nkwenika Tshifhiwa M
Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
South African Medical Research Council, South Africa.
S Afr J Physiother. 2017 Oct 26;73(1):354. doi: 10.4102/sajp.v73i1.354. eCollection 2017.
People with spinal cord injury (PWSCI) who use wheelchairs for mobility tend to be physically inactive because of their limited mobility. Poor endurance and exercise tolerance, associated with poor physical fitness, can make it challenging to meet the physical demands of activities such as manoeuvring a wheelchair over gravel roads. This may lead to poor community participation in activities PWSCI were involved in pre-morbidly. To date, no studies have been conducted in South Africa on what the relationship is between physical fitness and community participation in PWSCI.
The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between physical fitness and community participation in PWSCI.
An exploratory cross-sectional survey was conducted on PWSCI living in the Greater Tshwane Metropolitan City. Physical fitness was measured using the 6 minute push test (6MPT) and the Borg scale. Community participation was measured using the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI). The data were analysed using the Spearman's Rank correlation at a 5% level of significance.
Moderate to poor associations were found between the 6MPT and the Borg scale with the RNLI ( = 0.637; < 0.001 and = -0.325; = 0.013, respectively). These results indicate that the participants who were able to push further in 6 min and had better endurance were more satisfied with their perceived community participation.
This study shows that there is a relationship between physical fitness and community participation in PWSCI. Information gained from this study lays the foundation for more studies in this area, and for possible improvement in rehabilitation practice.
因行动受限而使用轮椅出行的脊髓损伤患者往往身体活动不足。耐力和运动耐量差与身体素质不佳相关，这可能使他们难以满足诸如在砾石路上操纵轮椅等活动的身体需求。这可能导致脊髓损伤患者对病前参与的社区活动的参与度降低。迄今为止，南非尚未开展关于脊髓损伤患者身体素质与社区参与之间关系的研究。
本研究旨在确定脊髓损伤患者身体素质与社区参与之间的关系。
对居住在茨瓦内大都市区的脊髓损伤患者进行了一项探索性横断面调查。使用6分钟推轮椅测试（6MPT）和博格量表测量身体素质。使用重返正常生活指数（RNLI）测量社区参与度。采用斯皮尔曼等级相关分析数据，显著性水平为5%。
6MPT和博格量表与RNLI之间存在中度至低度相关性（分别为 = 0.637； < 0.001和 = -；0.325； = 0.013）。这些结果表明，在6分钟内能够推得更远且耐力更好的参与者对其社区参与感更满意。
本研究表明脊髓损伤患者身体素质与社区参与之间存在关联。本研究获得的信息为该领域的更多研究以及康复实践的可能改进奠定了基础。
