Effect of inpatient rehabilitation on the quality of life and life satisfaction in spinal cord injury

Objective: Assess the impact of inpatient rehabilitation on the quality of life and life satisfaction of individuals with spinal cord injury by considering the level of injury. Design: QuasiExperimental study. Setting: Rehabilitation Hospital. Participants: A total of 71 Patients with Spinal cord injury were admitted for rehabilitation. Intervention: The quality of life and life satisfaction of patients were assessed both before and after 63 days of inpatient rehabilitation. Main outcome measurements: Functional independence measure score (FIM), the Short Form-36 (SF-36), and the Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS). Result: The average age of the study population was 34 +/- 14 years. At the end of 63 days, significant improvements were observed in FIM, mood, health, physical performance, role physical, role emotional, pain, and total score of LSS (Pi - Value <0.05). The variation in FIM changes significantly improved the total LSS score in the thoracic and thoracolumbar subgroups, but not in the cervical group. In addition, the total score of SF36 was improved significantly just in the cervical subgroup (Pi = 0.006). No significant correlations were found between SF-36 and LSS scores (before and after the intervention) in relation to marriage, education, and time. Conclusion: In the context of spinal cord injury, inpatient rehabilitation can play a role in improving functional independence which, in turn, impacts certain aspects affecting life satisfaction and the quality of life. It is important to note that the extent of this correlation varies among patients with different injury levels. In some cases, even minor changes, such as those seen in quadriplegic patients, could have a significant impact on their quality of life.