Validity of the Walking Scale for Spinal Cord Injury and Other Domains of Function in a Multicenter Clinical Trial

This study checks if a walking test, called the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI), accurately measures walking ability in people with spinal cord injuries. Researchers compared the WISCI with other tests that measure strength, balance, walking speed, and how well people can function in daily life to see if they all agree. The study found that the WISCI does a good job of measuring walking ability and that strength in the legs is a key factor in how well someone can walk after a spinal cord injury.

• 1
  Concurrent validity of the WISCI scale was supported by significant correlations with all measures at 3, 6, and 12 months.
• 2
  The LEMS at baseline was the best predictor of the WISCI score at 12 months and explained most of the variance, which supported both predictive and construct validity.
• 3
  The combination of the LEMS, BBS, WISCI, 50FW-S, and LFIM appears to encompass adequate descriptors for outcomes of walking trials for incomplete SCI.