Dosing of Overground Robotic Gait Training with Functional Outcomes and Neuroplasticity After Spinal Cord Injury (DOOR SCI)
Abstract
Being able to walk after a spinal cord injury (SCI) is an important goal for people during their rehabilitation. Walking again may help people’s quality of life and limit issues caused by SCI like pain, fatigue, bowel and bladder problems, and muscle weakness. Even though walking training is part of rehabilitation, many people after SCI still find it hard to walk or cannot walk after rehabilitation. Robotic exoskeletons are wearable robot suits that give people with SCI support for standing and walking. Walking training in this robotic exoskeleton is a new type of rehabilitation that may help people with SCI. To help us learn more about robotic exoskeletons we will have people walk in the robotic exoskeletons in the first several weeks after their SCI. We think this is the best time to practice walking in the robotic exoskeleton, because this is when the most recovery happens. The main goals of our study are to (1) test if more frequent robotic exoskeleton walking training helps people with SCI during the first months of recovery after injury, (2) explore how robotic exoskeleton walking training effects the brain’s ability to control the legs, and (3) determine the safety of robotic exoskeleton walking training. People who consent to being in our study will be randomized (like flipping a coin) into high, moderate, or low frequency robotic exoskeleton walking groups. We think that people in the high robotic exoskeleton group will be able to walk better than people in the moderate and low groups when they finish 24 sessions of robotic exoskeleton walking training and through the first 9 months after their injury. This study will result in many benefits to people with a recent SCI and rehabilitation providers (physicians and therapists). First, rehabilitation providers will learn if walking more frequently in a robotic exoskeleton is helpful to recover walking ability and other health outcomes. Second, providers will find out how the brain’s ability to control the legs is connected with walking after SCI. Finally, providers will know if robotic exoskeleton training programs in the first months after injury are safe and tolerated by people with SCI. Each benefit will help rehabilitation providers offer better care for people with SCI during the first several months after SCI. Walking in the robotic exoskeleton as part of this study, people with SCI may also be stronger and have less pain, less fatigue, better bowel and bladder function, and a better quality of life. This study will be the first to look at the benefits of walking in a robotic exoskeleton in the first few months after SCI, the first to look at how often people have to participate in walking training to improve walking ability, the first to link walking after a SCI with brain function, and the first to identify safety and tolerance of walking training. Our main goal is to help people after SCI regain the ability to walk.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 05, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2110922
Entities
People
- Chad Swank
Organizations
- United States Army