Improved Gait Speed After Robot-Assisted Gait Training in Patients With Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Preliminary Study.
- Author:
Seungwon HWANG
1
;
Hye Ri KIM
;
Zee A HAN
;
Bum Suk LEE
;
Soojeong KIM
;
Hyunsoo SHIN
;
Jae Gun MOON
;
Sung Phil YANG
;
Mun Hee LIM
;
Duk Youn CHO
;
Hayeon KIM
;
Hye Jin LEE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Clinical Trial ; Original Article
- Keywords: Spinal cord injuries; Locomotion; Robotics; Rehabilitation; Clinical trial
- MeSH: Gait*; Humans; Locomotion; Lower Extremity; Paraplegia; Quadriplegia; Rehabilitation; Robotics; Spinal Cord Injuries*; Spinal Cord*; Spinal Injuries; Walking
- From:Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine 2017;41(1):34-41
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical features that could serve as predictive factors for improvement in gait speed after robotic treatment. METHODS: A total of 29 patients with motor incomplete spinal cord injury received 4-week robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) on the Lokomat (Hocoma AG, Volketswil, Switzerland) for 30 minutes, once a day, 5 times a week, for a total of 20 sessions. All subjects were evaluated for general characteristics, the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), the Lower Extremity Motor Score (LEMS), the Functional Ambulatory Category (FAC), the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury version II (WISCI-II), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and the Spinal Cord Independence Measure version III (SCIM-III) every 0, and 4 weeks. After all the interventions, subjects were stratified using the 10MWT score at 4 weeks into improved group and non-improved group for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The improved group had younger age and shorter disease duration than the non-improved group. All subjects with the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale level C (AIS-C) tetraplegia belonged to the non-improved group, while most subjects with AIS-C paraplegia, AIS-D tetraplegia, and AIS-D paraplegia belonged to the improved group. The improved group showed greater baseline lower extremity strength, balance, and daily living function than the non-improved group. CONCLUSION: Assessment of SCIM-III, BBS, and trunk control, in addition to LEMS, have potential for predicting the effects of robotic treatment in patients with motor incomplete spinal cord injury.
