Radiographic Findings in the Lower Extremity Joints of Long-Term Users of Implanted Standing Neuroprostheses with Spinal Cord Injuries.
H Alex Hoyen, Sean Li, Michael Miller and 5 others
PMID 40678280WHAT IT FOUND
No lower-extremity joint showed a significant change in arthritis grade in four long-term users of implanted standing neuroprostheses after spinal cord injury over an average of 51 months.
Key findings
01No joint among the 24 had a significant change in arthritis progression.
02Radiograph follow-up averaged 51 months.
03The knee was the only joint group with a slight, non-significant improvement.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only four people were studied, so the result cannot be generalized to all users of implanted standing neuroprostheses. The participants were selected because they used the system very regularly; the authors say low-use individuals who developed joint changes could have been missed. The study included only four participants and used each participant's own radiographs as the comparison. The radiographs were taken without weight bearing, while the therapy is described as weight-bearing. The scoring systems were not necessarily described for joint changes after spinal cord injury, and rater agreement was moderate, with a kappa value of 0.42.
Declared interests
The authors have nothing to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that implanted standing neuroprostheses are safe for joints in everyone with spinal cord injury. The study reports only four regular users, and the authors say low-use people with joint changes could have been missed.