TUESDAY, Feb. 28, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Two very different kinds of therapy provided positive results for some people with partial spinal cord injury, new research finds.
The multi-center study of 117 people who'd suffered a partial spinal cord injury within the previous eight weeks found that 12 weeks of body weight-supported treadmill training was equally effective as the same amount of conventional rehabilitation for restoring movement.
The study also found that an unexpectedly high number of patients in both treatment groups achieved functional walking speeds by six months after their injury.
The patients were divided into three groups based on their level of movement impairment: B (more impaired); and C or D (less impaired).
"We initially expected that body weight-supported treadmill training would be more effective to regain walking ability than the conventional overground mobility therapy, particularly in groups B and C," study author Dr. Bruce H. Dobkin, of Reed Neurologic Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles, said in a prepared statement. "But what we found was no significant difference in strategies among individuals in groups C and D, who achieved walking abilities beyond expectations."
By six months after their injury, most of the Group C patients were able to walk independently, regardless which therapy they had. Twenty-four of the 26 patients treated with weight-supported treadmill therapy regained walking ability, as did 24 of 26 patients treated with conventional therapy.
The finding that each form of therapy produced similar outcomes means that patients and their health-care providers should select a therapy based on personal preference, cost, availability of equipment and skill, Dobkin said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about spinal cord injury.
