Measurement of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Inpatient Activity Levels Through Accelerometry

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use retrospective analysis of actigraphy data to describe activity levels for patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. This study also examined the differences between activity levels of the different areas of therapy. The final aim of this study was to examine the affect of demographic factors, and injury characteristics on activity levels. Method: Fifty individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) undergoing inpatient rehabilitation wore accelerometers. Activity Counts (ACs) were summarized in one-minute intervals. ACs, demographic and outcome variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics and general linear regression analysis. Results: During active therapy patients averaged 241.3 +/- 97.8 AC, which decreased to 142.2 +/- 74.1 during non-active therapy. Recreational time had an average of 112.8 +/- 59.5 AC, and sleep time had an average of 26.7 +/- 14.8 AC. Using predetermined definitions of physical activity, patients were determined to be inactive during therapy and sedentary/inactive for large portions of their stay. Linear regression analysis showed that the main factor with a negative association with physical activity is age. Discussion: The findings of this study demonstrate that patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation are largely inactive or sedentary. Although age was determined to have the largest impact on physical activity, the other demographic and outcome measures analyzed by this study along with other confounders’ impact on physical activity require further study to determine the best way to safely increase patient activity.