Effects of Activity Based Therapy on Upper Limb Strength and Transfer in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

In our society spinal cord injury is a major problem.activity based therapy and conventional therapy has a potentional to improve upper limb strength and transfer in tetraplegic patients.

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of activity based therapy versus conventional therapy to improve the upper limb strength and transfer in spinal cord injury.

The study design used was randomized clinical trial. The study was conducted at the paraplegic center Peshawar in 6 weeks after the approval of synopsis. A sample size of 16 participants was taken with complete and incomplete spinal cord injury received using lottery method. Subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups. Group A was treated with activity based therapy + baseline therapy and group B was treated with conventional therapy + baseline therapy. 8 subjects in each group. Pre and post treatment evaluation were done by using Spinal cord independence measure scale (SCIM) and International standards for neurological classification of spinal cord injury upper extremity measurement scale (ISNCSCI- UEMS).

Post spinal cord independence measure activity based group mean 26.87±12.87 and conventional group mean 31.50±23.82. The results indicate that conventional therapy and activity based therapy both are helpful in improving upper limb strength and transfer total spinal cord independence measure pre sig.0.96 and post sig.0.57.

Both activity based therapy and conventional therapy equally effective for improving the upper limb strength and transfer in spinal cord injury.

entional therapy.

Spinal cord is the cylindrical structure of nerve fibers and tissues that is enclosed in the spine and provides connection between the brain and all parts of the body. The spinal cord is particularly prone to injury. The spinal cord does not have the ability to repair other parts of the body, if it is damaged. A spinal cord injury happens when the spinal cord is affected by trauma, loss of its normal blood flow, or tumor or infection compression. Lesions in the spinal cord are described as either complete or incomplete.In a complete spinal cord injury, the body suffers complete loss of sensation and muscle control below the injury stage. In an incomplete injury to the spinal cord, there is a certain stay behind feature below injury point. In most cases all sides of the body are similarly affected. Neck injuries to the upper portion of the spinal cord can cause quadriplegia-paralysis of both arms and legs. If the spinal cord injury occurs lower in the back then it can only induce paraplegia-paralysis of both legs. The incidence of SCI to be between 13 and 33 cases per million per year, and their estimate of the incidence of SCI was between 110 and 1120 per million populations. Quadriplegia term refers to the motor and sensory function of cervical spinal cord because neurons inside the neuron damaged the spinal canal. Quadriplegia can cause in the arms, trunk, legs and pelvic organs. Not including brachial plexus or peripheral nervous injury.Trauma is the principal cause of spinal cord injury. Nearly half of the incidents are attributed to accidents involving motor vehicles. Certain forms of trauma include: falling to the spine from a height, stabbing or gunshot wound and sports injuries. Spinal cord damage may also be caused by tumor, infection, or inflammation caused by compression of the spinal cord. Many patients have normal backbone canal and a higher risk of spinal cord injurySome prognostic factors are related to survival, includes demographic, injury, and psychosocial variables. The most important prognostic factors are age and severity of injury including the level of the nervous system, the degree of damage integrity, and ventilator dependence Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), especially those with higher levels of disease, rely on care and assistance in their daily activities, most of which are provided by informal caregivers. Where home caregivers are involved, low usage of home services is observed. Provides care based on a doctor's prescription based on care needs, assessed by a qualified service provider using standardized procedures.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Participants with C6 to T1 tetraplegia.
* Both male and female patients were included
* Participants with traumatic spinal cord injury
* Participants with well oriented behavior were included
* Participants with complete and in complete spinal cord injury
* Participants of all times post injury and any initial sitting were included

Exclusion Criteria:

* Any intervention that measure effectiveness of external devices such as orthotics, frames sittings and chair positions
* Participants with severe neurological disorders, psychological problems and cognitive issues.
* Paraplegic participants or participants involved in gait or walking balance training over ground
* Participants with severe co morbidities and other medical complications
* Participants with pressure ulcers.