Spinal cord injuries (SCI) impair neural communication, leading to difficulties in walking due to muscle weakness, altered reflexes, and impaired muscle activation below the injury. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been shown to enhance voluntary control, strength, and walking performance when used during gait training. This study aims to assess whether the FES yields superior improvements in walking ability compared to conventional gait training without stimulation.
Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts neural communication, resulting in impaired walking ability due to muscle weakness, altered reflex modulation, and reduced voluntary muscle activation below the lesion level. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) applied during gait training has been shown to enhance muscle activation and improve gait performance. However, it remains unclear whether gait training with automated multi-channel FES provides additional benefits beyond conventional treadmill gait training in individuals with chronic incomplete SCI (iSCI). Objectives: (1) To determine whether gait training combined with FES leads to greater improvements in overground walking speed compared to improvements observed during the preceding period of conventional gait training alone. (2) To evaluate retention of walking improvements following the FES intervention. (3) To explore whether changes in gait performance are associated with changes in muscle coordination and muscle strength. Methods: This study is a prospective single-group, repeated-measures study with two sequential intervention phases: 10 weeks of conventional treadmill gait training followed by 10 weeks of gait training with FES. Individuals with chronic iSCI (≥12 months post-injury; AIS C or D; neurological level C2-T12) will participate in a 23-week program. Assessments will be performed at baseline (T0), after conventional training (T1), after FES gait training (T2), and at 10-weeks post intervention (T3). The primary outcome is the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT) walking speed (m/s). The primary analysis compares the change in 10MWT performance during the FES-assisted phase (T2-T1) with the change during the conventional phase (T1-T0). Secondary outcomes include spatiotemporal gait parameters, Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury II, Hoffer classification, treadmill gait performance, muscle activity, and isometric leg muscle strength.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Following completion of the conventional training phase, participants continue with 20 sessions of gait training combined with FES. Training frequency, duration, and treadmill procedures remain identical to the conventional training phase, including the use of the safety harness system and the option for seated breaks during walking. During sessions, participants wear the trousers part of a full-body garment (Teslasuit, Deep Divers, London, UK), which delivers FES through integrated textile electrodes positioned over the target muscle groups.
Stichting Reade
Amsterdam, Netherlands
walking speed
The primary outcome is walking speed (m/s) on the 10MWT, assessed at T0, T1, T2, and T3. The primary analysis compares the change during the FES-assisted phase (T2-T1) with the change during the conventional phase (T1-T0). If a participant cannot complete the full 10 meters, the trial is excluded from the primary analysis and recorded as missing data
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Spatiotemporal gait parameters - step length
Step length (cm) will be assessed during the 10MWT using a markerless 3D full-body motion registration system (the Interactive Walkway; four Microsoft Kinect v2 sensors, 30Hz; Geerse et al., 2015). The gait parameters will be determined between the 2 and 8-meter line on the walkway to reduce the effect of gait acceleration and deceleration.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Spatiotemporal gait parameters - step width
Step width (cm) will be assessed during the 10MWT using a markerless 3D full-body motion registration system (the Interactive Walkway; four Microsoft Kinect v2 sensors, 30Hz; Geerse et al., 2015). The gait parameters will be determined between the 2 and 8-meter line on the walkway to reduce the effect of gait acceleration and deceleration.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Spatiotemporal gait parameters - Cadence
Cadence (steps/min) will be assessed during the 10MWT using a markerless 3D full-body motion registration system (the Interactive Walkway; four Microsoft Kinect v2 sensors, 30Hz; Geerse et al., 2015). The gait parameters will be determined between the 2 and 8-meter line on the walkway to reduce the effect of gait acceleration and deceleration.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Functional ambulation - WISCI II
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Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
30
Evaluated at T0, T1, T2, and T3 using the WISCI II (0-20).
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Functional ambulation - Hoffer classification
Evaluated at T0, T1, T2, and T3 using the Hoffer classification (5-point scale).
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Muscle activity and neuromuscular coordination - Center of Activity
Surface EMG (Trigno Wireless EMG System, Delsys Inc., Natick, USA) will be used to record muscle activity from eight muscles bilaterally during the 10MWTs. The muscle set comprises bilateral tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius medialis (GAM), soleus (SOL), peroneus longus (PL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), gluteus maximus (GLM), and semitendinosus (ST). This selection provides a comprehensive overview of lower-limb muscle activity and is consistent with standard practices in gait research and clinical motor control studies (Agostini et al., 2020; Kotov-Smolenskiy et al., 2021). Center of Activity will be calculated for each muscle at T0, T1 and T2.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Muscle activity and neuromuscular coordination - full width at half maximum
Surface EMG (Trigno Wireless EMG System, Delsys Inc., Natick, USA) will be used to record muscle activity from eight muscles bilaterally during the 10MWTs. The muscle set comprises bilateral tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius medialis (GAM), soleus (SOL), peroneus longus (PL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), gluteus maximus (GLM), and semitendinosus (ST). This selection provides a comprehensive overview of lower-limb muscle activity and is consistent with standard practices in gait research and clinical motor control studies (Agostini et al., 2020; Kotov-Smolenskiy et al., 2021). The full width at half maximum (FWHM) will be calculated at T0, T1 and T2.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Muscle activity and neuromuscular coordination - Co-contraction
Surface EMG (Trigno Wireless EMG System, Delsys Inc., Natick, USA) will be used to record muscle activity from eight muscles bilaterally during the 10MWTs. The muscle set comprises bilateral tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius medialis (GAM), soleus (SOL), peroneus longus (PL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), gluteus maximus (GLM), and semitendinosus (ST). This selection provides a comprehensive overview of lower-limb muscle activity and is consistent with standard practices in gait research and clinical motor control studies (Agostini et al., 2020; Kotov-Smolenskiy et al., 2021). The Co-contraction will be calculated at T0, T1 and T2.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Muscle strength
Peak isometric knee extension and flexion torque (Nm) are assessed bilaterally using a load cell, with participants seated at 90° hip and knee flexion. Participants exert force against a fixed horizontal strap attached to a wall, with the force measured using the load cell. The lower leg is positioned perpendicular to the strap such that joint torque can be computed as load cell force × moment arm, where the moment arm (distance from the knee joint center to the strap attachment point on the lower leg) is measured at each trial. Three maximal trials per direction are performed; the highest value is the primary outcome and the mean of three trials is reported as a secondary consistency measure.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study at 33 weeks
Treadmill walking performance - Distance Covered
Treadmill walking performance is monitored across all 40 training sessions. Distance covered (m) is recorded by the treadmill software at the end of each session.
Time frame: During the 20 weeks training sessions
Treadmill walking performance - Walking Speed
Treadmill walking performance is monitored across all 40 training sessions. Walking speed (km/h) is recorded by the treadmill software at the end of each session.
Time frame: During the 20 weeks training sessions
Treadmill walking performance - Duration
Treadmill walking performance is monitored across all 40 training sessions. Duration (min) is recorded by the treadmill software at the end of each session.
Time frame: During the 20 weeks training sessions
Gait kinematics during FES-assisted gait training
Ankle and knee joint angles are recorded continuously across all 20 FES-assisted sessions using the six lower-body IMUs of the Teslasuit (femur, tibia, and foot bilaterally; 100 Hz). Raw data are stored for offline processing; all kinematic analyses are exploratory.
Time frame: During the 10 week gait training with FES