Treadmill exercise facilitates recovery of locomotor function through axonal regeneration following spinal cord injury in rats

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in permanent neurological deficits by disrupting axonal pathways. Physical exercise can improve the injured spinal cord. This study looks at how treadmill exercise affects locomotor function and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression after SCI in rats. Rats were divided into groups with and without SCI, with and without treadmill exercise. Locomotor function was evaluated weekly using the Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scale. BDNF expression and axonal sprouting were also examined. The study found that SCI led to a loss of locomotor function and decreased BDNF expression. However, treadmill exercise increased BBB scores, reduced cavity formation, and facilitated BDNF expression and axonal sprouting in rats with SCI.

• 1
  SCI induced loss of locomotor function with decreased BDNF expression in the injury site.
• 2
  Treadmill exercise increased the score of BBB locomotor scale and reduced cavity formation in the injury site.
• 3
  BDNF expression and axonal sprouting within the trabecula were further facilitated by treadmill exercise in SCI-exposed rats.