Improved Intralimb Coordination in People With Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury Following Training With Body Weight Support and Electrical Stimulation

• Published in: Physical therapy Vol. 82; no. 7; pp. 707 - 715
• Main Authors: Field-Fote, Edelle Carmen, Tepavac, Dejan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physical Therapy Association 01.07.2002; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adult; Ankle Joint - physiopathology; Care and treatment; Coordination; Electric stimulation; Electric Stimulation Therapy - methods; Exercise Therapy - methods; Female; Health aspects; Hip Joint - physiopathology; Human mechanics; Humans; Knee Joint - physiopathology; Male; Middle Aged; Movement (Physiology); Physical therapy; Physical Therapy Modalities; Psychomotor Performance; Recovery of Function; Spinal cord injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries - complications; Spinal Cord Injuries - rehabilitation; Walking; United States
• ISSN: 0031-9023; 1538-6724
• DOI: 10.1093/ptj/82.7.707

Background and Purpose. Limb coordination is an element of motor control that is frequently disrupted following spinal cord injury (SCI). The authors assessed intralimb coordination in subjects with SCI following a 12-week program combining body weight support, electrical stimulation, and treadmill training. Subjects. Fourteen subjects with long-standing (mean time post-SCI=70 months, range=12–171 months), incomplete SCI participated. Three subjects without SCI provided data for comparison. Methods. A vector-based technique was used to assign values to the frame-by-frame changes in hip/knee angle, and vector analysis techniques were used to assess how closely the hip/knee angles of each step cycle resembled those of every other step cycle. Overground and treadmill walking speeds also were measured. Results. Following training, 9 of the 14 subjects with SCI demonstrated greater intercycle agreement. Mean overground and treadmill walking speeds improved (84% and 158%, respectively). Discussion and Conclusion. The intervention used in this study is based on our current understanding of the role of afferent input in the production of walking. Although the study sample was small and there was no control group, results suggest that training may improve intralimb coordination in people with SCI.