Exoskeleton-assisted walking improves pulmonary function and walking parameters among individuals with spinal cord injury: a randomized controlled pilot study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Exoskeleton-assisted walking (EAW) is expected to improve the gait of spinal cord injury (SCI) individuals. However, few studies reported the changes of pulmonary function (PF) parameters after EAW trainings. Hence, we aimed to explore the effect of EAW on PF parameters, 6-min walk test (6MWT) and lower extremity motor score (LEMS) in individuals with SCI and to compare those with conventional trainings.

Methods

In this prospective, single-center, single-blinded randomized controlled pilot study, 18 SCI participants were randomized into the EAW group (n = 9) and conventional group (n = 9) and received 16 sessions of 50-60 min training (4 days/week, 4 weeks). Pulmonary function parameters consisting of the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 

SUBMITTER: Xiang XN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8146689 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature