Effects of lower limb electrical stimulation on trunk stability in persons with SCI during walking: a case series

The purpose of the present case series was to investigate whether three lower limb rehabilitation training approaches have any effects on trunk stability of persons with motor complete SCI during a 10-minute assisted walk. These trainings included electrical stimulation (ES), standing retraining (SRT), and a novel multi-modality approach that combined ES with SRT. We observed that multi-muscle ES directed at the lower limbs had a prominent, indirect effect on the upper and lower muscles of the trunk. More specifically, trunk muscle activations of the ES+SRT subject increased after training for the more distal muscles of the trunk. This study provides preliminary evidence that combining lower limb ES with SRT may provide beneficial effects in improving trunk control and stability.