Physical support of lower limbs during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transfers is important for an independent life of paraplegic patients. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to realize the control method of complete paraplegic patients during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transfers by using a ‘robot suit HAL’. It is the most challenging issue because the HAL should start supporting the w...

Paraplegia may increase the susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias by altering the autonomic control of the heart. Altered cardiac autonomic control has been documented to change the expression of genes encoding cardiac calcium regulatory proteins. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that paraplegia alters cardiac electrophysiology with concomitant changes in calcium regulatory proteins in a...

It is still unclear whether the low-frequency oscillation in heart rate is generated by an endogenous neural oscillator or by a baroreflex resonance. Our aim was to investigate this issue by analyzing blood pressure and heart rate variability and the baroreflex function in paraplegic subjects with spinal cord injury below the fourth thoracic vertebra. These subjects were selected because they r...

In this study we performed clinical and radiographic evaluation of the shoulder of tetraplegic and paraplegic patients who attend rehabilitation program with electrical stimulation. The objective was to establish the usefulness of radiography as a trial exam for shoulder pain in spinal cord injured patients. Thirty two shoulders of sixteen patients were evaluated by clinical exam and radiograph...

BACKGROUND a regular program of exercises in subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) can contribute to reduce the risk of upper extremities injuries. METHODS in this prospective laboratory study we tested the hypothesis that a training machine developed for able-body users is suitable for a shoulder training protocol in 11 paraplegic subjects with SCI. Overall subjects were assessed with the S...

In this study, the efficacy of a novel Chinese herbal formula, cure rot and flat sore ointment (CRFSO), in the management of stage IV pressure ulcers, and the effect of simultaneous comprehensive rehabilitation in improving the outcome were evaluated. A total of 35 paraplegic patients with stage IV pressure ulcers who underwent reconstruction and inpatient rehabilitation from January 2004 to Se...

OBJECTIVES To assess the incidence of post-traumatic syringomyelia (PTS), to correlate the presence of PTS with its most common signs and symptoms, and to compare results from the Swiss Paraplegic Centre with those reported in the medical literature. METHODS A total of 449 recent traumatic paraplegic and tetraplegic patients admitted to the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Zurich between 1 January ...

Paraplegic users of mechanical walking orthoses, e.g. advanced reciprocating gait orthosis (ARGO), often face high energy expenditure and extreme upper body loading during locomotion. We studied the effect of kinematical pattern on the mechanical performance of paraplegic locomotion, in search for an improved gait pattern that leads to lower muscular efforts. A three-dimensional, four segment, ...

An injured London policeman's fight to stand and walk again, despite the handicap ofcomplete paraplegia at thoracic level from a gunshot wound, captured the public imagination last year. British journalists hailed as an important breakthrough his treatment-firstly, with an electrical stimulation system (functional electrical stimulation) for the paralysed lower limb musculature, then using a sp...