Correlation Between Modified Functional Reach Test and Medio-Lateral Center of Pressure in Paraplegic Individuals With Motor-Complete Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

The Modified Functional Reach Test (mFRT) was developed to assess sitting balance in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). No studies have explored which mFRT reach directions correlate with the center of pressure (CoP) variables in patients with motor-complete SCI (mcSCI). Addressing this gap is important for improving the clinical usefulness of the mFRT. Thus, this study aims to determine the correlation between seated balance parameters based on CoP and the mFRT in individuals with MCSCI. A total of 10 individuals with mcSCI (9 males and 1 female; range 20–42 years; 4 high paraplegia and 6 low paraplegia). Individuals were tested using a force platform during the sitting postural balance test (SPBT) and the mFRT with/without force plate with three measures of reach: forward (FR), right (RR), and left (LR). The sway parameters investigated were the area CoP sway (CoPSway), the average velocity of CoP displacements along the anterior–posterior (VAP) and medial-lateral (VML) directions, and standard deviation in both directions (SDAP and SDML). The Pearson correlation test was used to analyze the data. Significant correlations were found between the mediolateral reaches of the mFRT and corresponding CoP variables. The rightward and leftward reaches of the mFRT both showed strong correlations with CoP variables during the leftward reach. Additionally, the leftward mFRT exhibited moderate correlations with CoP variables in the same, rightward, and forward directions. The mFRT medio-lateral direction correlates with CoP at medio-lateral directions in paraplegic individuals with mcSCI.