NEW YORK, Sept 26: A paralysed
man regained his ability to stand
and walk with assistance after undergoing
a spinal cord stimulation as well
as physical therapy, says a study, offering
hope to people with backbone
injury.
The research team from Mayo
Clinic and University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA), found that a
man, paralysed since 2013, regained
his ability to step with a front-wheel
walker while trainers provided occasional
assistance after 22 weeks of
physical therapy and an electrode
surgically implanted.
The man, now 29, injured his spinal
cord at the thoracic vertebrae in
the middle of his back in a
snowmobile accident in 2013. He was
diagnosed with a complete loss of
function below the spinal cord injury.
“What this is teaching us is that
those networks of neurons below a
spinal cord injury still can function
after paralysis,” said co-author
Kendall Lee from Mayo Clinic in
Minnesota.
In the study, published in the journal
Nature Medicine, the participant
underwent 22 weeks of physical
therapy and was implanted with an
electrode – that connects to a pulse
generator device under the skin of
the man’s abdomen and communicates
wirelessly with an external
controller.
The implant sits in the epidural
space – the outermost part of the
spinal canal – at a specific location below
the injured area.
The research demonstrated that
the man was able to walk over
ground using a front-wheel walker
and step on a treadmill placing his
arms on support bars to help with
balance. However, when stimulation
was off, the man remained paralyzed.
In the first week, the participant
used a harness to lower his risk of
falling and to provide upper body balance.
Trainers were positioned at his
knees and hips to help him stand,
swing his legs and shift his weight.
Because the man did not regain
sensation, he initially used mirrors
to view his legs, and trainers described
leg position, movement and
balance.
By week 25, he did not need
a harness, and trainers offered only
occasional help.
By the end of the study period,
the man learned to use his entire
body to transfer weight, maintain
balance and propel forward, requiring
minimal verbal cues and periodic
glances at his legs. – IANS
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