Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis after spinal cord injury can decline pragmatic ability and seriously influence life quality.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the activities and bone density changes in patients with spinal cord injury.
METHODS: Patients with spinal cord injury were divided into three groups according to daily standing time. Patients in sufficient activity group with daily standing time of more than 1 hour, patients in restricted activity group with daily standing time of less than 1 hour, and non-activity group has no standing activities.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry detected bone mineral density in lumbar spine and femur showed that bone densities of lumbar spine (L2-4), femoral neck, femoral intertrochanteric and Ward's triangle in the sufficient activity and restricted activity groups were higher than those of the non-activity group (P < 0.05), and bone density in the sufficient activity group was superior to the restricted activity group (P < 0.05). The results confirmed that compared with relative restricted activity after spinal cord injury, appropriate standing activities can help to reduce bone loss, alleviate the development of osteoporosis and improve the level of bone density.