About this trial
A well-established rehabilitation strategy for improvements of standing and walking ability in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) is step training on a motorized treadmill with body weight support. A promising intervention is stimulation of the spinal cord through the skin (transspinal). No single intervention is likely to significantly improve long-term function after SCI on its own. Rather, combinatorial treatments that work synergistically and can be used at different clinical settings is the answer to target recovery in people with SCI. The objective of this clinical trial is to develop a non-invasive combinatorial intervention that can be used worldwide in different clinical settings. The investigators will use cervical and lumbosacral transspinal stimulation to augment the benefits of locomotor training and affect vital body functions after SCI. The investigators will deliver non-invasive cervical and lumbosacral transspinal stimulation alone or with step training to improve upright posture, walking, bladder, sex, and bowel function in persons with incomplete SCI. The noninvasive nature of the intervention holds minimal risk that outweighs the benefits.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.
Ability to understand the consent form and sign the consent form.
In good general health as evidenced by medical history.
Diagnosed with incomplete SCI (AIS B, C, D).
Disqualifiers
Supraspinal lesions.
Neuropathies of the peripheral nervous system.
Significant degenerative neurological disorders of the spine or spinal cord.
Diagnosed with AIS A.
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Multisite transspinal stimulation at rest
- Multisite transspinal stimulation during robotic gait training
Treatment groups
Sponsors and collaborators
Maria Knikou, PT, MBA, PhD
Lead sponsor
City University of New York
Sponsor institution