Grant: Operating Grant

Many people who have a spinal cord injury (SCI) have the potential to improve their ability to move. The recovery of walking in people with SCI is an important goal because improved mobility can help reduce the risk of many of the secondary complications that could arise from being sedentary (e.g. wheelchair-bound). However, many people with SCI who have recovered some basic walking ability still have problems with performing more skilled walking tasks that are required for everyday environments, such as stairs and obstacles. Our laboratory has been investigating the benefits of using robotics in rehabilitation therapy for improving walking in people with SCI. Robotics were originally introduced as a way to provide assistance to leg movements while a person undergoes gait training. However, we have been studying the effects of robotic- based training where the robot is programmed to add some resistance to the legs while the person is practicing walking on a treadmill. People who took part in this resistance training showed much better improvement in the ability to do skilled walking tasks, such as stepping over obstacles, compared to people who received robotic-assisted training. Our goal now is to describe in more detail the changes in the walking pattern (using analysis of joint motions and muscle activity), changes in sensory function, and also changes in the capacity for motor skill learning associated with robotic-based resistance training. We have developed new ways of using robotics to test changes in sensory function in people with SCI. Using these techniques, along with other functional and biomechanical tests, we can begin to understand the changes in the motor as well as sensory system related to improvements in skilled walking function in people with SCI.