View clinical trials related to Spinal Cord Injury Cervical.
Filter by:This study compared pre-fabricated and custom resting hand splints among people who were in inpatient rehabilitation after a cervical spinal cord injury.
To identify means to improve exercise performance in participants with tetraplegia.
Loss of motor function is a consequence after a spinal cord injury (SCI). The incidence of SCI varies greatly from 12.1 to 57.8 cases per million depending on the country. More than 50% of people with SCI have impaired upper limb (UL) function, experiencing limitations in performing functional tasks. In this context, one of the rehabilitation objectives is to achieve the maximum level of independence in the patient in the performance of activities of daily living (ADL). Within the clinical setting, the main motivation in the use of robotic devices and/or exoskeletons for a rehabilitation purpose focuses on the fact that these help therapists in administering repetitive manual therapies to patients during exercises. There is evidence that the amount of therapy patients receive is insufficient. Without creating additional time demands on clinicians, robotic devices can perform the repetitive mechanical aspects of therapy, increasing the amount of therapy that patients receive. However, the current evidence in stroke patients suggests that the improvements observed are due to the intensity of the therapy, regardless of whether the administration of rehabilitation is due to robotic devices and/or traditional means. The main objective of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of the commercial Armeo® Spring system (Hocoma AG, Switzerland) and a Virtual Reality application to repeatedly work the ADL from drinking from a glass, in people with cervical SCI. The ADL of drinking has been chosen, as a representative activity of those related to food, which requires control, strength and coordination of the UL. The study is carried out at the Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos with the collaboration of Occupational Therapy Unit, the Rehabilitation Department, and the Biomechanics and Technical Aids Unit. This effectiveness is measured in terms of functional improvements and in the quality of the UL movements performed.
A common therapeutic intervention after spinal cord injury (SCI) is prolonged standing in a standing frame. For people with SCI, standing for 40 minutes or more, three to four times weekly improves several health-related issues including well-being, circulation, skin integrity, reflex activity, bowel and bladder function, digestion, sleep, pain, and fatigue. However, a person who experiences orthostatic hypotension (OH)-defined as a decrease of 20mm hg in systolic blood pressure or a decrease of 10mm hg in diastolic pressure within 3 minutes of standing from a sitting or supine position-secondary to SCI may not tolerate positioning in a standing frame, thus resulting in a loss of access to these health benefits. OH is common for people with SCI. It results from central nervous system dysregulation causing pooling of blood in the lower extremities that can lead to dizziness, light-headedness, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, nausea, palpitations, headache, and/or syncope. Although an array of physical and pharmacologic interventions are available to people in the general population for managing OH, few such interventions have been evaluated for use by people with SCI, especially when the level of injury is C5 or above. One possible intervention that may be effective for people with OH secondary to SCI is functional electrical stimulation (FES) because its application results in a dose-dependent increase in blood pressure. An unanswered question is whether the placement of FES electrodes on various parts of the body has differential effects. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate blood pressure responses among people with OH secondary to cervical SCI when receiving FES intervention involving the placement of electrodes in three different positions as well as when receiving no FES intervention during tilt table sessions. The selected positions for electrode placement are: (a) the calves, (b) the quads and abdominals, and (c) the quads, abdominals, and calves. The researchers hypothesize that FES intervention, regardless of placement, will result in better control of OH than no FES intervention and that no significant blood pressure difference will occur across the three FES placements.
Tetraplegia after a cervical spinal cord injury (C-SCI) radically alters an individual's ability to perform normal activities of daily life due to paralysis in all extremities, resulting in lifelong dependence.[1] Traditional tendon transfer surgery has proven successful in restoring grip functions which greatly improves autonomy, but with a restricted passive opening of the hand. The number of transferrable muscles in the arm is however limited, why nerve transfer surgery is a new attractive option to further improve hand function by enabling active opening of the hand. Significant advantages of distal nerve transfers include less extensive surgical dissection, greatly reduced hospital stay, rehabilitation and restrictions, and thereby less health care use and costs. In an effort to further improve hand function and independence in patients with tetraplegia, hand surgeons at Centre for Advanced Reconstruction of Extremities (C.A.R.E.), Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SUH)/Mölndal have developed a strategy in which a nerve transfer procedure aiming to restore active opening of the hand is done prior to reconstruction of grip functions. To date, no study has compared the efficacy of this combined nerve and tendon transfer (CNaTT) procedure to traditional grip reconstruction by means of tendon transfer alone, thus constituting a major gap in the literature. The purpose of this study is therefore to fill that knowledge gap by comparing the clinical outcomes of a cohort of patients who undergo the CNaTT procedure to restore hand function, to those treated by means of tendon transfer alone.
In tetraplegic patients with complete cervical spinal cord injury, respiratory complications are very frequent, especially in the sub-acute phase: the lungs often become obstructed due to the accumulation of secretions and the contemporary inefficiency of the cough mechanism. The present pilot study aims, in the context of a rehabilitative Critical Care Unit, at evaluating a not yet published method, called "T-PEP" and based on the principle of Positive Expiratory Pressure, applicable to tracheotomised and mechanically ventilated patients. This method, conceptually simple and low cost, is compared with a known method based on the principle of Percussive Intrapulmonary Ventilation (IPV). Safety and efficacy issues are covered.
This is a single-cohort early feasibility trial to determine whether an investigational device called the Bidirectional Neural Bypass System can lead to the restoration of movement and sensation in the hand and wrist of up to three individuals with tetraplegia.
The specific aim of this study is to evoke functional movement in the hand of both healthy individuals and individuals diagnosed with a stable cervical spinal cord injury with non-functional movement of the fingers. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of achieving refined hand movements through electrical stimulation of the muscles within the forearm. It is believed that this study will be able to identify specific stimulation parameters and electrode spatial configurations responsible for various refined hand movements. After an eligible individual agrees to participate in this study, s/he will receive transcutaneous electrical stimulation on the forearm in order to evoke different hand and finger movements. The precision, specificity, and extent of these movements will be visually assessed. In order to better evaluate these movements, participants may also be asked to perform various functional tasks with their hand. The grip strength and evoked forces at the fingertips will also be measured using sensors. There will be up to 4 study sessions each week for up to 8 weeks, with each session lasting up to 4 hours. Upon completion of these study sessions, the individual's participation in the study is considered complete.
Study design: Controlled Trial Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of robotic-assisted training of forearm and hand functions in spinal cord injury patients Setting: Ankara Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, Turkey Methods: Forty patients were allocated into robotic and control groups. Both groups received conventional rehabilitation program for four weeks. Moreover, robotic group received robotic rehabilitation program tailored to the patient five times a week (each session of 30 min). Baseline data and post-intervention data was compared.
Stimulation of the spinal cord may induce the growth and reorganization of neural pathways leading to the re-animation of paralyzed limbs. Growing evidence indicates that electrical spinal cord stimulation improves motor functions immediately via modulating the excitability of spinal circuitry in patients with spinal cord injury. Recently, a novel, non-invasive, well-tolerated and painless transcutaneous electrical stimulation strategy was demonstrated to be effective for improving lower limb motor function in healthy individuals and in patients with spinal cord injury. The investigators hypothesize that transcutaneous cervical electrical stimulation can enhance conscious motor control and functions of hand and arm via neuromodulation of spinal network. This study is a prospective efficacy trial of transcutaneous cervical electrical stimulation for improving upper limb function in patients with traumatic or degenerative cervical spinal cord injury. Transcutaneous electrical spinal stimulation device is not regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment of spinal cord injury. The interventions include either transcutaneous cervical spinal electrical stimulation combined with physical therapy or physical therapy only. The order of the interventions will be randomized for each subject in a delayed cross-over design. Total duration of the study is 6 months, including 4 weeks baseline measurements, 8 weeks intervention and 12 weeks follow-up. Both immediate and lasting improvements in hand motor and sensory function via transcutaneous cervical spinal stimulation will be evaluated.