Association between reliance on devices and people for walking and ability to walk community distances among persons with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To identify and describe the frequency of reliance on assistive devices and/or people for ambulating distances and stair climbing.

Design: Survey.

Setting: A total of 429 adults with traumatic spinal cord injury who were able to walk at least 10 m were identified through inpatient and outpatient hospital databases at a specialty hospital in the southeast United States.

Outcome Measure: Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire including items related to distances walked and devices used for ambulation.

Results: Participants best able to ambulate community distances were those who were independent with ambulation and those who used one cane or crutch. Reliance on people or use of a walker was associated with walking shorter distances. Regression analysis indicated reliance on devices or people for walking predicted variation in ability to ambulate community distances after controlling for demographic and injury characteristics.

Conclusion: This study suggests that reliance on devices or a person for assistance is important to consider when assessing potential for achieving functional community ambulation.