An innovative training technique being used at The Ohio State University Medical Center may lead to improved mobility and quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries.

Physicians are looking at the use of bodyweight support and treadmill therapy, known as locomotor training, to help patients improve various skills after suffering incomplete paralysis. The unique therapy is only available at a handful of facilities around the country.

Michele Basso, director of Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network (NRN) at The Ohio State University Medical Center, has been studying spinal injury and looking at cellular responses in a laboratory setting and she believes the therapy is beneficial.

“Research suggests that we can retrain spinal cords to recognize movements and not work directly through the brain. If you provide the right kind of sensory information into the spinal cord, it will recognize it and say, ‘Oh, I know what that is. That’s walking.’ We can manipulate the weight that goes through the legs to help the spinal cord remember how stepping is done. We have seen it work in the lab,” says Basso.

With the help of a team of physical therapists and researchers, the participants are lifted from their wheelchairs and supported over a treadmill in an overhread harness.  With their weight partially supported and the treadmill moving, physical therapists move the patients' legs to simulate walking.

Participants in the program receive therapy several times a week for an extended period of time. All participants respond differently but results may include lessened pain, enhanced balance, better respiratory and heart health, and in some cases, recovered ability to walk. The overall goal is to see improved health and quality of life for participants.

Dr. Jerry Mysiw, a physician in physical medicine at Ohio State’s Dodd Hall rehabilitation facility and the OSU medical director for the NRN, says spinal cord injuries are devastating and affect every aspect of a patient’s life.

“Social, personal and physical activities and interactions all are impacted by these injuries,” said Mysiw. “We hope this ground-breaking work will open a new chapter of therapy and treatment for people with this type of impairment.”

OSU Medical Center is one of only seven sites to have this kind of treatment through the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network. The other cities include Philadelphia, Louisville, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, and West Orange, N.J.

Funding is provided through the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

-- From Ohio State University