Gait training in individuals with incomplete SCI: how are they different from healthy subjects?

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 3-month gait training on mean gait oxygen consumption (VO2), gait speed (GS), distance covered in a 5-minutes walk, and gait cost (GC). In order to better explain the results, the data were compared to healthy subjects. Ten incomplete SCI patients with mean age 40±14 years participated to the study. The results showed significant increases in mean walking VO2 (p<0.01), GS (p<0.01), and distance covered (p<0.01) during the 5-minute walking test. While GC did not improve significantly after training, there was a definite trend of lower VO2 consumption per meter walked. The relation between VO2 and GS was compared to data of a 5-minute walking test of healthy individuals. There was a significant positive correlation between VO2 and GS in healthy (r=0.68; p<0.01) and there was no correlation (r=0.10) between those variables in SCI individuals. There was no correlation between GC and GS in healthy (r=0.128) and there was a significant negative correlation in SCI individuals. There is evidence that SCI individuals benefit from gait training. While physiological responses during walking are different in individuals with SCI than healthy, gait training reduces that difference.