Table 1 Measures used in the present study and in the DCM literature.

AMS

American Spinal Injury Association motor score. It is included in the international standards for neurological classification of spinal cord injury, and represented the persons’ neurological motor status (score range 0-100) [14].

SCIM-III

Spinal Cord Independence Measure third version (SCIM-III). It is a comprehensive measure of actual daily task performance, designed specifically for persons with spinal cord lesions. It was internationally validated, and is used today in spinal cord units worldwide (score range 0-100) [15].

SCIM95

The 95th percentile of SCIM III value, representing the potential performance for each AMS. It is calculated using a formula that includes AMS and SCIM-III values, and controls for age (years) and gender (Male = 0, Female = 1). It was found stable and valid for several countries:

SCIM95 = 26.017 − [0.004 × (AMS²)] + [1.236 × AMS] − [0.127 × Age] − 3.674 × Gender [9].

SCI-ARMI

Ability realization as a %. It is a measure of the realization of the potential performance, which equals SCIM-III/SCIM95×100 [9].

dSCIM-III

Value of the improvement in actual performance during comprehensive rehabilitation, which is the difference between SCIM III values at discharge and admission, or SCIM-III gain, which equals (SCIM-III₂)–(SCIM-III₁).

dSCIM-IIIn

The portion of SCIM-III gain that was due to neurological motor change during rehabilitation alone. It is obtained by calculating the difference between discharge and admission potential performance (SCIM-III95₂, and SCIM-III95₁), which is 100(SCIM-III₂/SCIARMI₂–SCIM-III₁/SCIARMI₁).

dSCIM-IIIr

The portion of SCIM-III gain that was due to the change in ability realization and not to neurological motor change during rehabilitation. It is obtained by calculating the difference between dSCIM-III and dSCIM-IIIn, which is SCIM-III₂–SCIM-III₁-100(SCIM-III₂/SCIARMI₂–SCIM-III₁/SCIARMI₁.

dSCI-ARMI

The change in ability realization. It is obtained by calculating the difference in SCI-ARMI values between discharge and admission.

JOA, mJOA Nurick, NDI

JOA or mJOA scores, the Nurick grades, and the Neck Disability Index (NDI) are tests that primarily asses activities of daily living [3, 16, 19,20,21,22,23,24,25, 28].

Timed 10-MWT

Timed 10-Meter Walk Test is a measures for gait assessment [28].

Quick DASH

Quick DASH is a measure of upper limb function [16].

OFSR, RTW rate

Overall Functional Status Rating and the Return to work rate are measures of participation in social and vocational activities [28, 29].