Outcome of the upper limb in cervical spinal cord injury: Profiles of recovery and insights for clinical studies

This study looks at how the use of arms and hands returns after a spinal cord injury in the neck. It is important to understand this recovery to help improve therapies and studies. The study followed 53 people with recent neck spinal cord injuries, tracking their sensory, motor, and hand function over a year using various tests and questionnaires. The study found that patients recover differently depending on how severe their injury is and whether their injury classification improves over time.

• 1
  Individuals with traumatic tetraplegia show distinct patterns of recovery, influenced by injury severity and conversion from complete to incomplete injury.
• 2
  The overall conversion rate (AIS) of the sample was 45%.
• 3
  All measures administered showed recovery of the upper extremity over the 1-year timecourse post-traumatic tetraplegia, except for the ISNCSCI-LT.