SynthesisSpinal cord2021
Do any physiotherapy interventions increase spinal cord independence measure or functional independence measure scores in people with spinal cord injuries? A systematic review.
Synthesis in Spinal cord, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison and Agreement of Criteria for Classifying Improvement in Walking Ability During Inpatient Rehabilitation After Spinal Cord Injury.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Immediate supraphysiologic load bearing of the spine appears safe after gunshot-related spinal cord injury: a case-control study.Spinal cord · 2025Article
- Epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in Catalonia, Spain: a 50 years' experience of a referral center.Spinal cord series and cases · 2025Article
- Interaction between injury severity and rehabilitation intervention on independence in activities of daily living in persons with spinal cord injury.Spinal cord · 2025Observational
- Models of care for musculoskeletal shoulder pain in spinal cord injury: A scoping review.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2024Article
- Early and intensive motor training to enhance neurological recovery in people with spinal cord injury: trial protocol.Spinal cord · 2023Article
- Predictors of resilience for people with spinal cord injury over two periods of COVID-19 social distancing restrictions: a 12-month longitudinal study using structural equation modelling.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Long-term Outcomes After Periprocedural and Spontaneous Spinal Cord Infarctions: A Population-Based Cohort Study.Neurology · 2023Article
- Advantages and Limitations in the Evaluation of the Neurological and Functional Deficit in Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries.Clinics and practice · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designSystematic review.
objectiveTo determine whether any physiotherapy interventions increase Spinal Cord Independence Measure or Functional Independence Measure scores (SCIM/FIM) in people with spinal cord injury (SCI), with the overall aim of determining whether any physiotherapy interventions need to be controlled for in studies examining the effects of novel experimental interventions on SCIM/FIM.
methodsA systematic review was conducted to identify all randomised controlled trials examining the effect of any physiotherapy intervention on SCIM/FIM in people with SCI. PEDro scores were used to rate risk of bias. The results of similar trials and comparisons were pooled using meta-analyses.
resultsThirty-three trials met the inclusion criteria but only 27 provided useable data. The median (IQR) PEDro score was 6.0 (4.0-7.0). A meta-analysis of four trials comparing robotic gait training with overground gait training that used a combination of FIM/SCIM indicated a pooled mean (95% CI) between-group difference of 0.38 standardised mean difference (SMD; 95% CI, 0.08-0.67). A second meta-analysis of two trials comparing upper limb training with and without functional electrical stimulation using FIM indicated a pooled (95% CI) between-group difference of 1.31 SMD (0.62-1.99). Another six trials examining a range of different physiotherapy interventions reported a statistically significant mean between-group difference on SCIM/FIM.
conclusionThere is low-quality evidence to indicate that a small number of physiotherapy interventions increase SCIM/FIM. The importance of controlling for all physiotherapy interventions in studies examining the effects of novel experimental interventions on SCIM/FIM is as yet unclear.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.