Active clinical trials for "Spinal Cord Injuries"

The research is being done to look at the benefits of a recreational and therapeutic program for people with spinal cord injury using the VSail-Access sailing simulator.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that a robot-aided rehabilitation protocol that follows the "assist-as needed" paradigm provide statistically significant improvements in arm and hand motor functions when compared to robot-aided protocols that passively move patients' arms along pre-defined trajectories, in patients with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI).

This study investigates if, patients with diagnosed chronic spinal cord injury will benefit from an Indoor Curling Exercise program on their control capabilities of trunk movements and on their intrinsic motivation for physical activity. Half of participants will receive 8 training-sessions during 4 weeks, while the other will receive usual care.

A randomized, controlled trial comparing exoskeleton gait training with standard gait training or no gait training in community-dwelling participants with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury

Aim 1: Determine the neurophysiologic impact of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation (TSCS) within a single session. The investigators hypothesize that subjects will demonstrate increased volitional muscle activity and strength with TSCS. This will be assessed by surface EMG and hand-held dynamometry of the dominant-side quadriceps muscle during maximum volitional contraction (MVC) and measurement of gait speed. Subjects will be tested in both TSCS and sham conditions. Aim 2: Determine the impact of TSCS and gait training on walking function. The investigators hypothesize that concurrent TSCS and gait training will augment walking function in subjects with iSCI, as compared to gait training alone. Subjects will participate in an eight-week program of gait training with TSCS and be assessed with clinically relevant outcome measures, to include the Timed Up and Go, 10-Meter Walk Test, Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury II, and 6-Minute Walk Test.

Background: Body weight supported (BWS) locomotor training improves overground walking ability in individuals with motor-incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). While there are various approaches available for locomotor training, there is no consensus regarding which of these is optimal. The purpose of this ongoing investigation is to compare outcomes associated with these different training approaches. Subjects and Methods: Subjects with chronic motor-incomplete SCI have completed training and initial and final testing. Subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 different BWS assisted-stepping groups, including: 1) treadmill training with manual assistance (TM), 2) treadmill training with stimulation (TS), 3) overground training with stimulation (OG), or 4) treadmill training with robotic assistance (LR). Prior to and following participation the investigators assessed: Walking-related outcome measures: overground walking speed, training speed, step length and step symmetry. Spinal cord reflex activity Electromyographic (EMG) associated with walking Hypotheses: In individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI): A 12-week period of body weight supported treadmill training with TS will produce improvements in walking function that are significantly greater than those produced by training with TM, OG, LR. TS training will be associated with greater changes to spinal reflex activity than will be observed in subjects trained with manual assistance or non-assisted stepping. Changes to spinal reflex activation will be such that this activity more closely resembles that observed in non-disabled (ND) individuals. Following participation in this walking regimen, EMG activity observed during walking in all groups will be more robust, more consistent and better coordinated than EMG measures obtained prior to training.

Treatments teaching people how to manage pain have been used to treat chronic pain in the general population. The purpose of this study is to see if these treatments delivered over the telephone can benefit persons with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury or an acquired amputation. Specifically, we want to determine if these treatments can help reduce the negative consequences that pain often causes in terms of a person's mood, daily activities, and enjoyment of life. We are also interested in finding out if these treatments decrease a person's pain.

A peer mentoring program for persons with SCI was developed. Individuals who experienced SCI in the past and have adapted well functionally were asked to serve as mentors for individuals with newly-acquired SCI. These individuals undergo volunteer and peer mentoring training prior to mentoring activities. They are a subset of the study participants. We are tracking their satisfaction with life, positive and negative affect, life adjustment, depression, and social support over time. We hypothesize that measures of adjustment will become more positive as involvement as a mentor increases. The second subset of study participants are the individuals with newly-acquired SCI. They complete a baseline assessment of the measures listed above and then at 6 months, one year, and two years after match with a mentor. We also collect information about the quantity and quality of the mentoring sessions from both the mentor and mentee. We hypothesize that the mentee's adjustment will be positively influenced by the number and quality of the mentoring sessions. Due to the relatively small number of SCI per year in our program, we opted to offer the mentoring program to all individuals with newly acquired SCI, thus there is no control group.

The investigators will continue their work with implanted stimulators to improve bladder and bowel function. Electrical stimulation produces simultaneous contraction of sphincters with the target organs, making emptying difficult. By optimizing electrode placement, employing a new electrode design and waveform choice, it is hoped to improve the 50% of subjects able to defecate with existing approaches. This is part of a multi-center study with multiple support sources, including Rehab R&D, PVA and a commercial stimulator company.

Incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) makes up half of all the newly admitted patients. For these individuals, the use of their upper limbs is critical for managing daily activities and self-care and impacts their quality of life. For home-based monitored rehabilitation, also called telerehabilitation, there are various rehabilitation equipment that are used. No studies have systematically gathered information regarding the perceptions of individuals with SCI regarding these equipment, training, and feasibility within the home. Further, their perceptions of the usability of high vs low end equipment is also not explored. In this study, investigators plan to gather survey and interview data from individuals with SCI regarding their experience with using rehabilitation equipment that uses games, muscle stimulation, and object manipulation. This study will inform the development of a tele-rehabilitation intervention in the future.