Recovery of walking and balance can occur even years after injury in people with incomplete spinal cord injury who participate in locomotor training

Additional study shows patients reduced expenses up to 25% after locomotor training intervention

SHORT HILLS, N.J., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the first time, new research demonstrates that innovative rehabilitative treatments for individuals with spinal cord injuries can lead to significant functional improvements in patients and a higher quality of life. These treatments are provided through the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network (NRN), a national network of activity-based rehabilitation centers for spinal cord injury. The findings suggest that a shift in both protocol and policy is needed to standardize rehabilitation across multiple centers. The studies were funded by the Reeve Foundation the nation's leading nonprofit dedicated to curing spinal cord injury and improving quality of life for people living with paralysis

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The NRN is a national network of rehabilitative centers established by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to translate scientific advances into activity-based rehabilitation treatment for individuals with neurological disorders, and is funded by a cooperative agreement between the Foundation and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Eleven peer-reviewed studies published in the September 2012 issue of Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation conclude that establishing a network of rehab centers for spinal cord injuries that standardizes treatment can lead to significant functional improvements for chronically injured patients. Using data from a total of 296 patients living with spinal cord injury (SCI) at seven centers across the country, researchers found that the NRN succeeds because of overarching conditions, including:

In addition, one NRN study published in the September issue of Journal of Neurological Physical Therapy found that expenses associated with equipment, home renovations, and transportation decreased by up to 25 percent for both children and adult patients with motor incomplete spinal cord injury due to the function gained following intensive locomotor training intervention.

Locomotor training is an intensive, activity-based intervention therapy that seeks to re-train the nervous system by simulating stepping and walking for those with spinal cord injuries. More than one million people in the U.S. are living with paralysis due to a spinal cord injury according to the Reeve Foundation.

Link:
New Research: Eleven Studies Reveal Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury Experience Improved Health, Function through ...

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