Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 27, 2026
Activity-based Training on a Treadmill with Spinal Cord Injured Wistar Rats
Published on: January 16, 2019
Comparison of body weight-supported treadmill training versus body weight-supported overground training in people
Thangavelu Senthilvelkumar1, Henry Magimairaj2, Jebaraj Fletcher3
1Physical Therapy Unit, Rehabilitation Institute, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Tamil Nadu, India sentheel@gmail.com.
Objective:
To compare the effectiveness of body weight-supported treadmill training and body weight-supported overground training for improving gait and strength in people with traumatic incomplete tetraplegia.
Design:
Assessor blinded randomized trial.
Setting:
Rehabilitation institute of a tertiary care teaching hospital in India.
Participants:
Sixteen participants with traumatic motor incomplete tetraplegia and within two years of injury.
Interventions:
Participants were randomised to one of two groups: body weight-supported overground training on level ground and body weight-supported treadmill training. Both groups received 30 minutes of gait training per day, five days a week for eight weeks. In addition, both groups received regular rehabilitation which included flexibility, strength, balance, self care and functional training.
Outcome Measures:
The primary outcome measure was the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (/20 points) and the secondary outcome was the Lower Extremity Muscle Score (/50 points).
Results:
There was no statistically significant between group differences in the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury [mean difference=0.3points; 95% CI (-4.8 to 5.4); p=0.748] or the Lower Extremity Muscle Score [mean difference=0.2 points; 95% CI (-3.8 to 5.1); p=0.749].
Conclusions:
Gait training with body weight-supported overground training is comparable to treadmill training for improving locomotion in people with traumatic incomplete tetraplegia.
