Gait Rehabilitation for Patients with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury (iSCI): Conventional and Treadmill Training

Abstract

Walking is an important goal that patients with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) want to achieve. Physiotherapy approaches to improve this ability can be divided into 2 main types: conventional and treadmill training. Conventional walking training for patients with iSCI is not unique and likely to employ the techniques used for patients with similar conditions from other pathologies. The methods are based mainly on either individual components necessary for walking or the whole task of walking. However, training on the whole task of walking requires patients to have enough strength and balance to perform both the stance and swing phases of the gait. Treadmill training is an alternative form of whole task walking training that can be started immediately when the patient has stable medical conditions with assistance from therapists and a harness. There are vast variations of the setting methods for treadmill therapy. This article reports information of these training methods which may benefit physiotherapists to choose the treatment for their patients.