Upper extremity effort during the sit-to-stand task in able-bodied and in individuals with spinal cord injury: A preliminary study

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association between the presence of spinal cord injury (SCI) on biomechanical variables by comparing individuals with SCI and able-bodied individuals during the sit-to-stand (STS) task assisted by a walker device. Specifically, we compared the upper-extremity joint angles and moments, trunk forward tilt angle, vertical forces of the instrumented walker, and ground reaction forces between groups. Design Case–control study. Setting Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, UNICAMP-Brazil. Participants Six individuals with SCI and fourteen able-bodied individuals. Main outcome measures Kinematics and kinetics of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints; trunk forward tilt angle, vertical walker forces, and ground reaction forces (GRF) were analyzed during the STS task in two phases: before and after the seat-off event. Results A higher peak elbow flexion angle and higher vertical walker forces were observed before the seat-off, whereas the lower peak vertical GRF was found, after the seat-off, in the SCI group compared with the control group. Conclusions SCI affects kinematics and kinetics variables during the STS task compared to able-bodied controls. Individuals with SCI adopted different standing-up strategies that affected the distribution of the forces in the upper and lower extremities of the human body.