Physical activity intensity of patient’s with traumatic brain injury during inpatient rehabilitation

ABSTRACT

Objective: Use actigraphy to (1) describe the intensity of physical activity completed by patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during inpatient rehabilitation, and (2) examine the association between physical activity intensity and demographic, injury, and programmatic characteristics.

Design: Observational.

Method: Fifty individuals with TBI undergoing inpatient rehabilitation wore accelerometers for an average of 8.7 ± 1.8 days to capture physical activity intensity that was summarized using activity counts (ACs). Intensity of activity was described for categories of the participant’s day including physical and occupational therapy, non-active therapy, recreation, and sleep. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlations, and general linear regression were computed.

Results: Participants average physical activity intensity was considered “inactive” during physical (M = 242.7.7 ± 105.2 AC/min) and occupational therapy (M = 244 ± 105), non-active therapy (M = 142.2 ± 74.1), and recreation (M = 112.8 ± 59.5), and “sedentary” during sleep (M = 26.7 ± 14.8). Significant positive associations were identified between physical activity intensity and categories of the participant’s day suggesting that participants who complete more intense activity in therapy also complete more intense activity during non-active therapy and recreation time. General linear regression indicated that age significantly predicted physical activity intensity.

Conclusions: Findings demonstrate that patients with TBI undergoing inpatient rehabilitation are largely inactive or sedentary. Strategies to promote a safe increase in physical activity intensity are required if cardiovascular conditioning is to be improved during inpatient rehabilitation.

KEYWORDS:

• Actigraphy
• activity
• fitness
• health
• dosage

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Cindy Dunklin for her oversight and technical expertise with handling the actigraphy data.

Declarations of interest

The contents of this manuscript do not necessarily represent the policy of National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research [Grant number 90DP0045-01-0] and Ginger Murchison Foundation Traumatic Brain Injury Research Fund.