A behavioral intervention promoting physical activity in people with subacute spinal cord injury: secondary effects on health, social participation and quality of life.

Objective: To assess, for people with subacute spinal cord injury, if rehabilitation that is reinforced with the addition of a behavioral intervention to promote physical activity leads to a better health, participation and quality of life.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Rehabilitation centers.

A behavioural intervention increases physical activity in people with subacute spinal cord injury: a randomised trial.

Questions: For people with subacute spinal cord injury, does rehabilitation that is reinforced with the addition of a behavioural intervention to promote physical activity lead to a more active lifestyle than rehabilitation alone?

Design: Randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis, and blinded assessors.

Participants: Forty-five adults with subacute spinal cord injury who were undergoing inpatient rehabilitation and were dependent on a manual wheelchair. The spinal cord injuries were characterised as: tetraplegia 33%; motor complete 62%; mean time since injury 150 days (SD 74).

Validation of an activity monitor for children who are partly or completely wheelchair-dependent.

Background: Children who are wheelchair-dependent are at risk for developing unfavorable physical behavior; therefore, assessment, monitoring and efforts to improve physical behavior should start early in life. VitaMove is an accelerometer-based activity monitor and can be used to detect and distinguish different categories of physical behavior, including activities performed in a wheelchair and activities using the legs. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the VitaMove activity monitor to quantify physical behavior in children who are partly or completely wheelchair-dependent.

Inactive and sedentary lifestyles amongst ambulatory adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy.

Background: To assess physical behaviour, including physical activity and sedentary behaviour, of ambulatory adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP). We compared participant physical behaviour to that of able-bodied persons and assessed differences related to Gross Motor Functioning Classification System (GMFCS) level and CP distribution (unilateral/bilateral).

Methods: In 48 ambulatory persons aged 16 to 24 years with spastic CP and in 32 able-bodied controls, physical behaviour was objectively determined with an accelerometer-based activity monitor.