Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Cord Injury
This study was conducted over a 14-month period to assess the physical therapy
intervention needs of 201 patients who attended monthly spinal cord injury (SCI)
outpatient clinics conducted in three outlying local communities of northern
California. Methods to identify and provide appropriate physical therapy services
for the patients were explored. An experienced physical therapist from a regional
SCI center and other clinic staff members screened the patients and identified
66 patients (33%) who needed physical therapy services, including evaluation
(82%), patient education (62%), and referrals to appropriate local health care
professionals or equipment vendors (52%). Losses of joint range of motion,
changes in sitting posture as a result of increased muscle tone or contracture,
and malaligned or misfitting lower extremity orthoses were identified as problem
areas not commonly recognized in routine follow-up examinations. Recommen-
dations based on our study findings included the use of a screening form for
physical therapy needs at each clinic, improved patient education about the role
of the physical therapist as a resource person during follow-up care, coverage
for each of the three clinics on a biannual basis, and continued study of the
mechanisms used by other SCI centers to fulfill the outpatient needs of their
patients. Physical therapy involvement in SCI follow-up services can maximize
efficient use of our health care resources and provide early identification and
management of specific postdischarge needs.
Key Words: Physical therapy, Spinal cord injury.
The goal of the spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation function in skills of daily living and vocational pursuits.1
process is to prepare the individual for life after discharge with Approaches to follow-up care commonly involve physical
a maximal level of functional independence and the necessary therapy intervention only when problems are noted in one of
resources and modifications to assist in returning to the these areas. Fragmentation in the follow-up care of the SCI
family, home, school, or work environment.1 Follow-up stud- patient frequently leads to management that is inappropriate
ies of SCI patients indicate that medical problems frequently to the chronic nature of the disability and to frustration for
encountered postdischarge include noncompliance with self- the patient and his family.7
care routines or medication schedules, joint contractures, skin
breakdown, edema, bowel problems, spasticity, pain, bladder
SPINAL CORD INJURY OUTREACH
management problems, diaphoresis, and insufficient home
CLINIC SYSTEM
health services.2 Social and environmental problems also are
reported, including architectural barriers, insufficient or mal- Our regional SCI center serves a geographical area that
functioning equipment, financial difficulties, and inappro- includes north-central California, southern Oregon, and west-
priate dependence on others.2 The postdischarge functional ern Nevada, with an estimated population of 9 million indi-
skills of SCI patients frequently improve.3-5 Few patients with viduals and an estimated SCI population of 1,800 individuals.
complete SCIs at T5 or below, however, continue lower This region includes heavily populated urban and suburban
extremity orthotic use for functional purposes after discharge.6 areas, as well as extensive, sparsely populated rural and agri-
The literature reveals little information on the postdischarge cultural areas.
use of physical therapy services by the SCI patient. Patient The regional SCI system sponsored and staffed monthly
education programs frequently address physical therapy con- SCI outreach clinics in one of three outlying community
cerns such as prevention of joint contractures, prevention of hospitals for the six years before the study was initiated. These
respiratory complications, and achievement of maximum clinics were instituted to provide comprehensive outpatient
SCI follow-up care for those individuals who were unable to
commute to the regional SCI center. Because the area served
is so large, many patients were limited by distance, lack of
Ms. Curtis is Director and Educational Services Consultant, Health Direc- transportation, or expense.
tions, PO Box 491116, Los Angeles, CA 90049 (USA). She was Education
Coordinator and Supervisor, Spinal Cord Injury Service, Physical Therapy Staffing for each clinic routinely included a physician(s), an
Department, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, at the time this article was occupational therapist, a local public health nurse(s), and an
written.
Dr. Hall is with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Veteran's
SCI Project Outreach Coordinator. The SCI outreach clinic
Administration Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA. She was Co-Director, Northern team used automobile or air transportation to travel to the
California Regional Spinal Injury System, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, clinics, which were located within a 120- to 300-mile radius
San Jose, CA, at the time this article was written.
This article was submitted April 2, 1985; was with the authors for revision 16 of the regional SCI center. For two of the clinics, travel also
weeks; and was accepted January 9, 1986. involved overnight accommodations for the SCI outreach
clinic team. The SCI outreach clinic team saw an average of Screening Procedure
200 patients a year before the study.
The SCI outreach clinic team initially lacked physical ther- The physical therapist briefly screened each patient attend-
apy representation. When the SCI outreach clinic program ing the clinic to determine whether he required physical
was implemented, the physical therapy department at the therapy services. The therapist asked the patient to describe
center was understaffed, and experienced staff members were any loss of joint range of motion, increased pain or discom
needed for patient treatment and supervision of physical fort, change in motor or sensory function, malfunctioning
therapy services at the SCI center. The physical therapy needs equipment or orthoses, and changes in functional abilities or
of many of the SCI patients seen in follow-up remained unmet endurance.
and unknown because local physical therapists participated
in the clinics only sporadically. The substantial expense of Referrals to the Physical Therapist
providing physical therapy coverage did not justify an SCI The physical therapist encouraged all clinic staff members
center physical therapist attending the clinics. A local physical and patients to request physical therapy intervention directly
therapist, therefore, could provide clinic services and ongoing for any of the above problem areas. The physical therapist
treatment locally, or the SCI center's physician could refer briefly assessed each referred patient and discussed with the
the patients for physical therapy services locally. clinic team any active or potential problems of those patients
This study was conducted 1) to document the types of receiving physical therapy services. Appropriate team mem-
physical therapy services needed in the follow-up care of the bers agreed on and carried out the plan. Individual physical
SCI patient and to determine the role of the physical therapist therapy records were filed with the patients' other medical
in providing these services; 2) to document the actual number records.
of hours of physical therapy services needed at each monthly
SCI outreach clinic and to determine the optimal utilization Data Analysis
of the therapists' time; and 3) to assess the desired involve-
ment, capabilities, and availability of the SCI center's physical The data were analyzed by tabulating demographic infor-
therapists versus local physical therapists in each of the out- mation, referral patterns, and postdischarge problems and by
reach clinic areas. calculating the total time spent in and frequency of perfor-
mance of physical therapy functions. In addition, we deter-
METHOD mined the mean number and percentage of patients seen and
the mean time for each type of physical therapy service
We initially contacted the outreach clinic staff members performed.
and participating local physical therapists to explain the ob-
jectives of the project and the potential functions at the clinic RESULTS
of the physical therapists. An experienced physical therapist
from the SCI center collected data for 14 months at one of Of the 201 patients attending the follow-up clinics, 66 (33%)
the SCI outreach clinics. received the services of the physical therapist. All subsequent
data are described for this group of 66 patients. The group
Physical Therapy Services included 54 men and 12 women with a mean age of 29 years.
Eight patients (12%) were seen more than once during sub-
The SCI center's physical therapist performed essential sequent clinic visits. Forty (61%) of the patients had cervical
services arid recorded information on a data collection form lesions, and the remaining 26 patients (39%) had thoracic or
(Appendix 1) regarding the frequency and time spent provid- lumbar lesions. One patient had a brain stem lesion in addi-
ing evaluative and therapeutic services, making local referrals, tion to a cervical SCI; two patients were recovering from
ordering equipment, and providing patient education and Guillain-Barre syndrome and were functionally incomplete
professional consultation. Additionally, the physical therapist paraplegics.
documented the types of physical therapy intervention
needed; the patterns of referral for these services (by patient, Types of Physical Therapy Functions
family, other clinic staff member, or initial contact by physical
therapist); the age, sex, and degree of neurological involve- Evaluation, arranging for referrals, ordering equipment,
ment of the patients needing physical therapy services; and and patient education were the functions performed most
postdischarge problems. frequently by the physical therapist (Table). Fifty-four patients
(82%) were evaluated for at least one problem. Thirty-four
Local Physical Therapy Survey (52%) of the patients required follow-up services. Patient
education was provided for at least one problem for 41 (62%)
We contacted local physical therapy department directors of the patients. Consultation was requested by another health
to explain the purposes of the study. The directors completed care professional regarding the appropriate plan of care for 19
a follow-up questionnaire regarding the availability of specific (29%) of the patients. Actual treatment was initiated at the
patient services, potential staff coverage for the SCI clinic, clinic for only 12 (18%) of the patients.
and capabilities of the local physical therapists to provide SCI The most frequently performed individual functions were
patient care. Written resource materials about SCI treatment evaluation of ROM, gait analysis, patient education for ROM
emphasizing appropriate functional goals and the role of the or stretching exercises, and referral for physical therapy in the
physical therapist were distributed to all local physical therapy local community.
departments. Local physical therapists were encouraged to Evaluation. Assessment of ROM, gait analysis, and manual
attend the quarterly clinic in their area. muscle testing were the most frequently performed evaluation
Evaluation 84 46 54 82
The physical therapist made initial contact with 43 (65%)
Equipment-referral follow- of the 66 patients. Only 18 (27%) of the patients receiving
up (paperwork-phone) 39 21 34 52 physical therapy services were referred initially by the SCI
Patient education 32 18 41 62 center's physicians.
Professional consultation 17 9 19 29
Treatment 12 6 12 18 Postdischarge Problems
TOTAL 184 100 160 —
The most common physical therapy problem noted during
a
N = 66 (32.8% of the 201 patients screened for physical therapy the postdischarge follow-up examinations was the patients'
needs in the SCI outreach clinic). failure to comply with the physical therapy home program (8
patients, 12%). The second most common problem was the
functions, involving 32 (49%), 23 (33%), and 12 (18%) of the delay in receiving outpatient physical therapy services on the
local level (6 patients, 9%).
patients, respectively. Other procedures included evaluation
for standing equipment (10%), orthotic evaluation (10%),
scoliosis or posture evaluation (8%), endurance evaluation Time Requirements for Physical Therapy Services
(8%), and respiratory evaluation (8%). In addition, evalua- An average of 184 minutes was spent in direct patient-care
tions of dysphagia, inhibition of muscle tone, back pain, and services at each one-day clinic, although the time spent ranged
edema each were conducted for one patient. from as little as 75 minutes at one clinic to as much as 320
Referral and equipment follow-up. The referral and follow- minutes at another clinic. Patient attendance varied markedly
up activities primarily involved documentation or telephone with the extremes of weather and ranged from a low of 8
contact to arrange for desired services or equipment locally. patients to a high of 32 patients. The physical therapist
Most of the referrals were for local physical therapy services devoted an average of 38 minutes to each patient.
and involved 13 (20%) of the patients. The most frequently
reported equipment needs were for the replacement or repair Local Physical Therapy Survey
of lower extremity or spinal orthoses and transcutaneous
electrical nerve stimulation devices. A total of 11 patients Only one of three directors of local physical therapy de-
(17%) received services for equipment repair or purchase. partments reported that their staff members were trained
Patient education. Therapist involvement in patient edu- sufficiently to meet the physical therapy needs of the SCI
cation was most frequent in reviewing ROM and stretching patient. No director could send a physical therapist full time
procedures (21%) and in encouraging compliance with the routinely on the day of the clinic because of staffing shortages.
standing program (14%). Patients routinely received individ- The average number of SCI patients referred for outpatient
ualized instruction with written materials and a detailed pa- physical therapy at each facility was 7 a year. Many local
tient education manual before discharge from the clinic. physical therapists expressed a need for training in both acute
Many patients denied having been instructed previously in care skills and community follow-up services. Although most
these procedures. of them indicated a willingness to learn the needed skills, they
Professional consultation. Local physical therapists were also emphasized the extreme limitations in their available
encouraged to participate in the SCI outreach clinics. Even time.
though one area consistently scheduled local staff coverage of
its clinic, other priorities, such as inpatient hospital care, DISCUSSION
frequently resulted in cancellation of the services of the phys-
ical therapists assigned to the clinic. Effective decision making In determining whether physical therapy services are
and planning, however, was possible because of the sharing needed in the follow-up care of the SCI patient, we assume
of specialized SCI expertise by the SCI center's physical ther- that the patient's quality of life is improved by the delivery of
apist and the coordination of local resources and appropriate these services. Within the scope of this article, however, we
follow-up services by the local physical therapists. The SCI cannot probe the validity of this assumption.
center's physical therapist explained the role of the physical
therapist, provided evaluation skills, and recommended Need for Physical Therapy Services
equipment resources to other health care professionals for 19
(29%) of the patients seen. The results of our study indicate that physical therapy
intervention is needed in the areas of evaluation, referral, and
Treatment Procedures patient education. Actual evaluation and treatment services
can be provided by a physical therapist with some training in
Of the limited actual treatment that was initiated at the SCI treatment techniques. The decision-making functions of
clinic, the most frequently performed procedures (12%) in- problem identification, goal setting, and treatment planning
volved techniques to increase ROM and to improve posture can be accomplished more effectively by the SCI center's
or positioning. Time constraints, the rapid turnover of pa- experienced physical therapist. Inappropriate referrals for gait
tients examined during the clinic hours, and the limited training, orthoses fabrication, and maintenance functions can
APPENDIX 1
Data Collection Form Content
APPENDIX 2
Spinal Cord Injury Outreach Clinic Physical-Occupational
Therapy Screening Form
Name Date