Neurologic improvement of spinal fracture victims is usually assessed by the change of Frankel grade of Motor index. But most authors just describe the change between preoperative status and final follow up. And there is no information about
exact
amount of motor recovery concerning muscle group and the time to full recovery of individual muscles.
The authors analysed motor recovery of individual muscle groups in 16 patient with incomplete paraplegia by thoracolumbar of lumbar fractures. Five muscle groups were evaluated by periodic follow up. Using Lovett scale. They were Iliopsoas (IP)
for
L2,
Quadriceps Femoris(QF) for L3. Tibialis Anterior(TA) for L4. Extensor Hallucis(EH) for L5 and finally Gastrosoleus(GS) for S1, Only the individual muscle group, which showed decreased muscle power preoperatively, were include to know the recovery
rate.
Time to follow up was 33.6 months(9-53 months).
Motor index was changed from 17.4 preoperatively to 42.3 at final follow up. Recovery rates of IP, QF and GS were about 90%, while those of TA and EH were 60%. Average time to full recovery of IP, QF and GS was 6 months, while those of TA and EH
was
less than 4 months. Preoperative muscle power was positively related with the final motor power of individual muscle group.
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