Feasibility and safety of automated multi-channel FES-assisted gait training in incomplete spinal cord injury.

Only five participants were studied, so individual responses cannot be treated as a reliable pattern. There was no control group, so gait changes cannot be compared with usual physiotherapy or treadmill training alone. All participants continued their usual physiotherapy during the study, so the separate contribution of FES, treadmill training and physiotherapy cannot be separated. Feasibility was partly self-reported. No statistical testing was performed because the sample was small and variable. Stimulation timing was not recorded with certainty, so the study cannot confirm the intended stimulation occurred at the intended times. Technical issues with the Teslasuit occurred during 15 of 94 sessions, and only two suit sizes were available. Participants already walked 10 m overground using assistive devices, so the results may not apply to people with less walking ability.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding was from Reade Foundation and Rapenburg Race.

Do not read the gait improvements as proof that FES works. The study had no control group, included only five participants, and all participants continued physiotherapy, so the effect of FES cannot be separated from treadmill training and physiotherapy.