Chieffo Cristina, Chini Giorgia, Varrecchia Tiwana, Gennarelli Irene, Silvetti Alessio, Molinaro Vincenzo, Poni Ida, Mariotti Andrea, Tiberti Simone, Tamburro Annamaria, Calabrese Ilaria, Felici Sara, Bartoli Marco, Gigli Loredana, Minella Roberto, Lucia Barbara, Toscano Aldo, Ranavolo Alberto
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian National Institute for Insurance Against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy.
Human-Robot Interfaces and Physical Interaction Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology, 16163 Genoa, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Dec 6;24(23):7808. doi: 10.3390/s24237808.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes major challenges to mobility and daily life activities and maintaining balance becomes a crucial issue. Individuals with SCI often need to adopt new strategies to manage balance with minimal discomfort. Sports and physical activities have become one of the most popular rehabilitation methods for people with SCI. The assessment of balance improvement currently relies on subjective evaluation scales, and this study aims to quantitively assess the efficacy of sports on the balance strategies of people with SCI. Twenty-two SCI people remained seated still for 30 s, with their eyes open and closed, and we recorded trunk kinematics with an optoelectronic system before and after a three-months sports program. We also computed trunk total sway length, mean velocity, and sway density curve. Statistical analyses were performed to compare SCI people before and after the rehabilitation program and to investigate any correlations between the trunk balance parameters and the clinical scales. The results demonstrate improvements in static balance, with significant reductions in sway length and mean velocity. In conclusion, our findings confirm the potential of sports to enhance balance in SCI individuals and suggest that integrating structured sports programs into rehabilitation can improve stability and postural control.
脊髓损伤（SCI）给行动能力和日常生活活动带来了重大挑战，维持平衡成为一个关键问题。脊髓损伤患者通常需要采取新的策略来在最小不适的情况下维持平衡。运动和体育活动已成为脊髓损伤患者最受欢迎的康复方法之一。目前对平衡改善的评估依赖于主观评估量表，而本研究旨在定量评估运动对脊髓损伤患者平衡策略的疗效。22名脊髓损伤患者在睁眼和闭眼状态下静止坐立30秒，在为期三个月的运动计划前后，我们用光电系统记录其躯干运动学数据。我们还计算了躯干总摆动长度、平均速度和摆动密度曲线。进行统计分析以比较康复计划前后的脊髓损伤患者，并研究躯干平衡参数与临床量表之间的任何相关性。结果表明静态平衡有所改善，摆动长度和平均速度显著降低。总之，我们的研究结果证实了运动在增强脊髓损伤患者平衡能力方面的潜力，并表明将结构化运动计划纳入康复可以改善稳定性和姿势控制。
