title: Does standing protect bone density in patients with chronic spinal cord injury?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the t-scores of proximal femur and lumbar spine of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) with different levels of weight bearing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study comparing 3 groups of patients with SCI: patients with daily standing times of more than 1 hour, patients with daily standing times of less than 1 hour, and nonstanding patients. Seventy-one patients with chronic SCI were recruited. They were assigned to 1 of 3 groups according to their reported daily standing time. The bone density of lumbar and proximal femoral regions was measured with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 3 groups were similar in terms of demographics and clinical variables. No significant difference was found among the mean t-scores of lumbar and proximal femoral regions of the groups. However, the patients in the group that stood more than 1 hour daily had a slight tendency to have higher t-scores than those in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no significant difference among the 3 groups. However, standing might be partially helpful in protecting the bone density in SCI by opposing the effects of immobilization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, TSK Rehabilitasyon Merkezi Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey. asgoktepe@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ahmet Salim
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Goktepe
authors.forename: Ilknur
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tugcu
authors.forename: Bilge
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Ridvan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alaca
authors.forename: Sukru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gunduz
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology