Two spinal cord injury patients with complete motor paralysis were able to walk independently after a combined regimen of locomotor exercises and spinal cord epidural stimulation, according to a study in NEJM.
Here are three things to know:
1. Researchers tested intense locomotor treadmill training with weight support and simultaneous spinal cord epidural stimulation in four traumatic SCI patients who failed to improve with locomotor training alone.
2. A patient with a mid-cervical spinal cord injury was able to walk over ground after 278 sessions of epidural stimulation and gait training over 85 weeks. A patient with high-thoracic spinal cord damage was able to walk after 81 sessions over 15 weeks.
3. All patients achieved trunk stability and were able to stand independently.