Possible mechanisms of neurologic recovery in spinal cord injury were postulated by Ditunno Jr. JF in 1987. The first window encompasses recovery from neurapraxia within 6 to 8 weeks. The second window covers the period from 2 to 8 months after the injury. Recovery during this period might be due to peripheral sprouting of intact nerves to denervated muscle and hypertrophy of functioning muscles. The third window of recovery happens usually beyond 8 to 12 months when axonal regeneration may play a role in further increases in strength.

On the basis of these possible mechanisms, we measured the neurological and functional recovery rate according to the periods of these possible mechanisms of motor recovery through 12 months following injury in 21 traumatic spinal cord injury patients.

The results were as follows:

1) Neurologically, the most rapid recovery was shown within 6 to 8 weeks after injury, during the phase of recovery from neurapraxia.

2) Most of functional recovery occured in the period between 2 month and 8 month of the compensatory phase.

3) Statistically significant correlation between motor and functional recovery was shown among the incomplete spinal cord injury group.

These data would be helpful in planning a timely appropriate rehabilitation program by understanding the time-course of neurologic recovery and prognostication of neurologic and functional recovery in the spinal-cord injured.

Objective: We observed the nature of ipsilateral weakness, not hemiplegic side after stroke. And we studied correlation between ipsilateral weakness and neurologic recovery of hemiplegia.

Method: This study was prospective, follow-up clinical trial. Ipsilateral motor power was checked serially in 20 subjects using Nicholas Manual Muscle Tester (NMMT) (shoulder abduction, wrist extension, hip flexion, ankle dorsiflexion). The subjects are first attacked hemiplegic stroke patients. Other outcome measures are Mini-mental Status Examination (MMSE) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). We studied correlations between motor power recovery in ipsilateral limbs and recovery of neurologic impairment in hemiplegic limbs of stroke patients through SPSS 7.0 program.

Results: Ipsilateral motor power in early stage stroke patients is significantly low compared with that of normal subject except ankle dorsiflexion (p＜0.05). Comparing ipsilateral proximal with distal limbs power in pre and post multidisciplinary rehabilitation program, upper proximal part recovered faster than the distal part, but which was not statistically significant. Recovery of ipsilateral upper proximal and distal limb weakness is associated with neurologic recovery in hemiplegic side.

Conclusion: After the stroke, ipsilateral upper limb motor weakness does occur and which follows similar neurologic recovery pattern to the hemiplegic side. Ipsilateral cortical and subcortical tracts take effect on the neurologic recovery of contalateral side.