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Updated: Mar 21, 2026
Activity-based Training on a Treadmill with Spinal Cord Injured Wistar Rats
Published on: January 16, 2019
Repeat Exposure to Leg Swing Perturbations During Treadmill Training Induces Long-Term Retention of Increased Step
Ming Wu1, Jill M Landry, Janis Kim
1From the Sensory Motor Performance Program, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (MW, JML, JK, BDS, S-CY, JM, YZ); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois (MW, BDS, S-CY); and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (BDS).
Objective:
To determine whether repeat exposure to force perturbations during treadmill training can induce long-term retention of improved step length and overall improvements in locomotor function in persons with spinal cord injury.
Design:
Fourteen patients with spinal cord injury were recruited and randomly assigned to swing resistance or swing assistance training groups. A controlled swing resistance or assistance force, for resistance or assistance training groups, respectively, was applied to both legs through a cable-driven robotic system during treadmill training. Each participant trained 3 times per week for 6 weeks. Step length, walking speed, 6-minute walking distance, and other clinical assessments were evaluated before and after 6 weeks of training and 8 weeks after the end of training.
Results:
A significant increase in step length was observed after 6 weeks of resistance training (P = 0.04). Step length tended to increase after assistance treadmill training, but the change was not significant (P = 0.18). The changes in step length and functional gains had no significant difference between 2 groups.
Conclusions:
Repeat exposure to swing resistance during treadmill training may induce a prolonged retention of increased step length, although it remains unclear whether swing resistance versus assistance is more effective in inducing increased step length.
