Effects of body weight-support treadmill training on postural sway and gait independence in patients with chronic spinal cord injury

Objective: To examine the effects of a six-week body weight-support treadmill training (BWSTT) program on center-of-mass control and gait independence in chronic, incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) patients. Design: Descriptive. Setting: Clinica Los Coihues. Neurorehabilitation center in Santiago, Chile. Participants: 17 chronic iSCI patients and 17 healthy subjects. Outcome Measures: An instrumented sway (ISway) test was performed before and after the implementation of a six-week BWSTT program. The standing balance of participants was measured by Normalized jerk (NJ) and root mean square (RMS). These values were used to assess the standing balance of participants, and were correlated with the scores obtained on the Walking Index Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI) II test. Results: Significant differences were found in standing balance (i.e., through NJ) after the BWSTT program (P=0.016), but no significant differences were found in RMS values for postural sway (P=0.693). None of the patients obtained improved WISCI II scores pre- vs. post-intervention. Conclusion: While a BWSTT program can improve center-of-mass control in iSCI patients, no effects were recorded for gait independence.