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RehabMeasures Instrument

Spinal Cord Injury Spasticity Evaluation Tool

Last Updated

Purpose

The SCI-SET assesses the degree to which spasticity affects aspects of daily life.

Link to Instrument

Acronym SCI-SET

Area of Assessment

Spasticity

Assessment Type

Patient Reported Outcomes

Administration Mode

Paper & Pencil

Cost

Free

Cost Description

The SCI-SET can be found in:
Adams, M. M., Ginis, K. A., et al. (2007). "The spinal cord injury Spasticity evaluation tool: development and evaluation." Arch Phys Med Rehabil 88(9): 1185-1192

Diagnosis/Conditions

  • Spinal Cord Injury

Populations

Key Descriptions

  • The SCI-SET is composed of 35 items that assesses?the degree to which?spasticity has effected life activities?over the past 7 days.
  • Responses are on a 7-point scale that ranges from +3 (extremely helpful) to -3 (extremely problematic).

Number of Items

35

Time to Administer

5-9 minutes

Required Training

No Training

Age Ranges

Adolescent

13 - 17

years

Adult

18 - 64

years

Elderly Adult

65 +

years

Instrument Reviewers

Initially reviewed by Christopher Newman, PT, MPT, NCS, Phyllis Palma, PT, DPT, and the SCI EDGE task force of the Neurology Section of the APTA in 2012.

ICF Domain

Body Function

Measurement Domain

Activities of Daily Living

Professional Association Recommendation

Recommendations for use of the instrument from the Neurology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Multiple Sclerosis Taskforce (MSEDGE), Parkinson’s Taskforce (PD EDGE), Spinal Cord Injury Taskforce (PD EDGE), Stroke Taskforce (StrokEDGE), Traumatic Brain Injury Taskforce (TBI EDGE), and Vestibular Taskforce (Vestibular EDGE) are listed below. These recommendations were developed by a panel of research and clinical experts using a modified Delphi process.

For detailed information about how recommendations were made, please visit:  

Abbreviations:

 

HR

Highly Recommend

R

Recommend

LS / UR

Reasonable to use, but limited study in target group  / Unable to Recommend

NR

Not Recommended

Recommendations for use based on acuity level of the patient:

 

Acute

(CVA < 2 months post)

(SCI < 1 month post)

(Vestibular < 6 weeks post)

Subacute

(CVA 2 to 6 months)

(SCI 3 to 6 months)

Chronic

(> 6 months)

SCI EDGE

LS

LS

LS

 Recommendations based on SCI AIS Classification:

 

AIS A/B

AIS C/D

SCI EDGE

LS

LS

 Recommendations for entry-level physical therapy education and use in research:

 

Students should learn to administer this tool? (Y/N)

Students should be exposed to tool? (Y/N)

Appropriate for use in intervention research studies? (Y/N)

Is additional research warranted for this tool (Y/N)

SCI EDGE

No

No

No

Not reported

Considerations

The measure might be particularly useful in helping SCI patients communicate how spasticity impacts their daily lives and thus help guide treatment.

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Spinal Injuries

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Normative Data

Chronic SCI: (Adams, 2007; Study 3, n = 61, paraplegia = 24, tetraplegia = 37; SCI-SET scores range from -3.00 to +3.00

  • Across groups SCI-SET scores ranged from -2.35 to 0.00 with a mean of -0.65 (0.56)
  • Mean scores for patients with Paraplegia = -0.62 (0.57)
  • Mean scores for patients with Tretraplegia = -0.67 (0.57)

Test/Retest Reliability

Chronic SCI: (Adams et al, 2007; n = 61 (total), 24 = paraplegia (mean score = -.62, SD = .57), 37 = tetraplegia (mean score = -.67, SD = .57))

  • Excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.91)

Internal Consistency

Chronic SCI: (Adams et al, 2007)

  • Excellent Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.90)

Construct Validity

Chronic SCI: (Adams et al, 2007)

Correlations between SCI-SET score and related instruments:

 

 

Domain

Strength

SCI-SET

Spasticity severity

Adequate

-0.48*

Spasticity impact

Excellent

-0.61*

FIM motor score

Poor

0.21

QLI health and functioning subscale

Excellent

0.68*

PSFS

Excellent

-0.66

PSFS = Penn Spasm Frequency Scale
*p < .001

 

 

Content Validity

The SCI-SET was developed through both semistructured individual interviews and a search of the literature (Adams et al, 2007).

Face Validity

Participants rated the SCI-SET 4.4 (SD = 0.6) out of 5 (1, very irrelevant - 5, very suitable), suggesting strong face validity (Adams et al, 2007).

Bibliography

Adams, M. M., Ginis, K. A., et al. (2007). "The spinal cord injury spasticity evaluation tool: development and evaluation." Arch Phys Med Rehabil 88(9): 1185-1192.