Physical Activity Guidelines for People With Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Implementation and Evaluation of the New Physical Activity Guidelines for People With Spinal Cord Injury.

The first evidence-based physical activity guidelines for people with spinal cord injury were released in March, 2011. This project will evaluate the implementation of the new physical activity guidelines in a community exercise setting in Hamilton, Ontario. The investigators hypothesize that persons who follow the guidelines will experience increased aerobic fitness and muscle strength. The investigators also hypothesize that participants will find the guidelines easy to follow and that their self-efficacy for participating in physical activity will be improved following the study period.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Spinal Cord Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Physical Activity Guidelines

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4K1
      • Centre for Health Promotion and Rehabilitation, McMaster University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• adults with spinal cord injury who have been given clearance to exercise by their primary care physician (or healthcare team)

Exclusion Criteria:

• ventilatory support
• inability to voluntarily participate in upper body exercises
• inability to communicate in English
• ongoing infection
• unstable autonomic dysreflexia

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Experimental: Physical Activity Guidelines; Participants randomized to this arm received training/guidance on following the physical activity guidelines for adults with spinal cord injury	Behavioral: Physical Activity Guidelines; Participants in the Physical Activity Guidelines Arm will be asked to participate in at least 20 minutes of moderate to heavy intensity aerobic activity 2 times per week as well as strength training exercises (moderate intensity) 2 times per week. The Control Arm will not be supervised to follow the physical activity guidelines

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical Fitness	Peak VO2 tests will be done on a cycle ergometer to assess aerobic capacity/endurance, and peak strength will be measured on accessible weight-training equipment.	4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-efficacy for achieving the physical activity guidelines	Assessed through questionnaire.	4 months
Adherence to physical activity guidelines	Assessed through enrolment records	4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: McMaster University
• Collaborators: Rick Hansen Foundation

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 6, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 6, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): June 7, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): April 8, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2014
• Last Verified: April 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; spinal cord injury; physical fitness
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Trauma, Nervous System; Spinal Cord Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: HicksPAGs