A systematic review of the effectiveness of task-specific rehabilitation interventions for improving independent sitting and standing function in spinal cord injury

Context: Impaired balance function after a spinal cord injury (SCI) hinders performance of daily activities.Objective: To assess the evidence on the effectiveness of task-specific training on sitting and standing function in individuals with SCI across the continuum of care.Methods: A systematic search was conducted on literature published to June 2016 using people (acute or chronic SCI), task-specific interventions compared to conventional physical therapy, and outcome (sitting or standing balance function). The PEDro scale was used to investigate the susceptibility to bias and trial quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A standardized mean difference (SMD) was conducted to investigate the effect size for interventions with sitting or standing balance outcomes.Results: Nineteen articles were identified; three RCTs, two prospective controlled trials, one cross-over study, nine pre-post studies and four prospective cohort studies. RCT and cross-over studies were rated from 6 to 8 indicating g...