Long-term body-weight-supported treadmill training for incomplete cervical spinal cord injury: a case report.
Shinichi Miyake, Yumi Higuchi, Masataka Kataoka and 2 others
PMID 36628141WHAT IT FOUND
One man with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury received home body-weight-supported treadmill training plus usual physiotherapy for over ten years.
Leg strength and body-weight support improved or held, then worsened. This is one person, not proof the training works.
Key findings
01The participant received home body-weight-supported treadmill training for 1 hour once a week and conventional training for 1 hour twice a week.
02Body weight load reduction decreased until 4.5 years post-injury, and at 10.5 years the participant could not achieve 15 min even with increased support.
03Lower-limb muscle strength increased during the first year, was maintained between 1 and 8.5 years post-injury, and decreased at 9.5 years post-injury.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only one person was reported, so this cannot show what usually happens after this training. The participant received conventional physiotherapy at the same time as the treadmill training, so the contribution of either treatment alone cannot be separated. The report is a case report, not a comparison with another group, so changes over time cannot be attributed to the training. Walking distance was not used as an outcome because the training was limited to a maximum of 500 m or 15 min. The participant was an elderly man with C3/C4 incomplete spinal cord injury, so it says little about younger people or other injury levels.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that long-term body-weight-supported treadmill training improves walking or prevents complications. The report covers one elderly man who also received conventional physiotherapy twice weekly, and his strength and body-weight support later worsened, so the contribution of body-weight-supported treadmill training alone cannot be separated.