Introduction: Over recent years it has become possible to retrain motor activity among patients with partial spinal cord injury, especially for walking. AIM. To assess the impact of gait training on a treadmill with body weight support, regarding temporospatial parameters and quality of life.
Patients and methods: Twelve patients of both sexes were evaluated. They had been diagnosed with partial spinal cord injury of traumatic origin at least 12 months earlier. They were able to walk and their motor function below the level of the injury was partially preserved and classified as level C or D. After the initial evaluation, the participants were trained on a treadmill with body weight support, with two sessions per week lasting 30 minutes each, over a four-month period, thus totaling 30 sessions. The patients' temporospatial gait parameters and quality of life were analyzed before and after the training.
Results: There were improvements in all the temporospatial parameters evaluated (p < 0.0001), but no changes in quality of life were seen (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Treadmill training with body weight support among patients with spinal cord injury was effective in improving the temporospatial gait parameters, but without changing their quality of life.