Effects on the Motor Function, Proprioception, Balance, and Gait Ability of the End-Effector Robot-Assisted Gait Training for Spinal Cord Injury Patients

This study investigates how end-effector robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) affects motor function, proprioception (sense of body position), balance, and walking ability in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries (SCI). The goal was to see if RAGT could improve these functions and to understand how different clinical outcomes relate to each other. Participants received 30 minutes of RAGT using the Morning Walk® robot and one hour of conventional physiotherapy, five times a week for four weeks. Researchers evaluated several clinical measures before and after the intervention, including walking speed, endurance, muscle strength, proprioception, balance, and walking ability. The results indicated that RAGT led to improvements in all measured clinical outcomes. Specifically, there were significant enhancements in walking speed, endurance, lower extremity motor score, proprioception, balance, and walking ability among the participants.

• 1
  End-effector RAGT significantly improved gait speed (10MWT) and endurance (6mWT) in SCI patients.
• 2
  RAGT improved ankle and knee proprioception, balance ability (BBS), and ambulation capacity (WISCI-II).
• 3
  Initial BBS and WISCI-II scores were positively correlated with most final clinical outcome measures, indicating that postural control before intervention could play an essential role in favorable gait outcomes.