Objectives: To determine whether physical activity and participation 1 and 5 years after discharge are associated with measures of cardiovascular autonomic function: prevalence of hypotension and reduced peak heart rate at discharge from initial inpatient spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation.
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Setting: Rehabilitation centers.
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).
Purpose: To describe the course of life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during the first 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation and to examine its determinants.
Methods: Multi-centre prospective cohort study with four measurements, the first at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, the last 5 years after discharge. Data of 162 persons with SCI were analyzed.