Reliability of soleus H-reflexes in standing and walking post-incomplete spinal cord injury.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the reliability of soleus H-reflex in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) during the standing and the swing and stance phases of overground walking.


METHODS
Fourteen SCI (40 +/- 10 years) and eight noninjured subjects (32 +/- 9 years) participated. The noninjured and SCI subjects walked at self-selected speed overground. H-reflexes in the soleus muscle (at M-wave 7%-13% maximum-M) were tested on two separate days by stimulating the tibial nerve. Intraclass correlation coefficients (two-way mixed model-ICC (1, 2)) and standard error of measurement (SEM) were calculated.


RESULTS
Relative reliability of the H-reflexes was good to excellent; intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranged from 0.64-0.91 in noninjured and SCI subjects. SEM expressed as percentage of the mean H-reflex was 13%-62% in noninjured and 12%-18% in SCI individuals.


CONCLUSIONS
H-reflexes can be reliably assessed in standing and walking in post-SCI and noninjured subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
H-reflexes can be reliably used in longitudinal studies to investigate mechanisms of recovery post-SCI.
Phadke
Chetan P
CP
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32601, USA. chetan.phadke@queensu.ca
Thompson
Floyd J
FJ
Trimble
Mark H
MH
Behrman
Andrea L
AL
Kukulka
Carl G
CG
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006181:H-Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult