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Purpose: Activity-based locomotor training improves intrinsic trunk control in children with spinal cord injury (SCI). To reinforce these improvements, there is a need to develop community integration activities to allow a patient to apply the retrained nervous system at home. One activity that has been explored is rocking in a rocking chair. This paper describes the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a rocking chair for children with SCI. Materials and Methods: The Quality Function Deployment (QFD) design process was used. Fundamental needs and features for the rocking chair were defined in a focus group with experienced therapists, and needs were then rated for importance. A House of Quality (HOQ) matrix was developed to correlate needs with design features, and a prototype design was generated. Virtual motion studies and finite element analysis (FEA) were utilized to assess the design. The chair was fabricated and physical testing was performed, including tipping and static and dynamic load assessments. Results and Conclusions: The needs identified through the QFD process were categorized into (1) safety, (2) therapeutic, (3) practical and aesthetic, and (4) data to track chair use. Features selected to meet these needs include safety stops, padding, straps, a stable base, armrests, adjustable footrest, and sensors to capture rocking data. FEA showed a factor of safety (FOS) > 5. Physical testing confirmed physical integrity, load-bearing capacity, and stability of the prototype glider rocking chair. The prototype provides a safe tool for further investigation of rocking for promotion of trunk muscle activation in children with SCI. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Rocking in a rocking chair promotes carryover of gained trunk control capacity, from clinic to home in a population that is non-ambulatory. Rocking provides opportunity for self-practice in population with severely compromised capacity. Rocking is a movement that may be performed when other types of movement cannot be readily performed, e.g., resistance exercise, movement against gravity. Rocking creates opportunity for repetitive, voluntary, self-directed movement that is inherently pleasurable and reinforcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Locomotor Experience Applied Post Stroke rehabilitation trial found equivalent walking outcomes for body weight-supported treadmill plus overground walking practice versus home-based exercise that did not emphasize walking. From this large database, we examined several clinically important questions that provide insights into recovery of walking that may affect future trial designs. Using logistic regression analyses, we examined predictors of response based on a variety of walking speed-related outcomes and measures that captured disability, physical impairment, and quality of life. The most robust predictor was being closer at baseline to the primary outcome measure, which was the functional walking speed thresholds of 0.4 m/s (household walking) and 0.8 m/s (community walking). Regardless of baseline walking speed, a younger age and higher Berg Balance Scale score were relative predictors of responding, whether operationally defined by transitioning beyond each speed boundary or by a continuous change or a greater than median increase in walking speed. Of note, the cutoff values of 0.4 and 0.8 m/s had no particular significance compared with other walking speed changes despite their general use as descriptors of functional levels of walking. No evidence was found for any difference in predictors based on treatment group.

BackgroundLocomotor training using body weight support and a treadmill as a therapeutic modality for rehabilitation of walking post-stroke is being rapidly adopted into clinical practice. There is an urgent need for a well-designed trial to determine the effectiveness of this intervention. The objective of the Locomotor Experience Applied Post-Stroke (LEAPS) trial is to determine if there is a difference in the proportion of participants who recover walking ability at one year post-stroke when randomized to a specialized locomotor training program (LTP), conducted at 2- or 6-months post-stroke, or those randomized to a home based non-specific, low intensity exercise intervention (HEP) provided 2 months post-stroke. We will determine if the timing of LTP delivery affects gait speed at 1 year and whether initial impairment severity interacts with the timing of LTP. The effect of number of treatment sessions will be determined by changes in gait speed taken pre-treatment and post-12, -24, and -36 sessions.Methods/designWe will recruit 400 adults with moderate or severe walking limitations within 30 days of stroke onset. At two months post stroke, participants are stratified by locomotor impairment severity as determined by overground walking speed and randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) LTP-Early; (b) LTP-Late or (c) Home Exercise Program -Early. The LTP program includes body weight support on a treadmill and overground training. The LTP and HEP interventions are delivered for 36 sessions over 12 weeks. Primary outcome measure include successful walking recovery defined as the achievement of a 0.4 m/s gait speed or greater by persons with initial severe gait impairment or the achievement of a 0.8 m/s gait speed or greater by persons with initial moderate gait impairment.LEAPS is powered to detect a 20% difference in the proportion of participants achieving successful locomotor recovery between the LTP groups and the HEP group, and a 0.1 m/s mean difference in gait speed change between the two LTP groups.DiscussionThe goal of this single-blinded, phase III randomized clinical trial is to provide evidence to guide post-stroke walking recovery programs.Trial registrationNCT00243919.

Background. Locomotor training using partial body weight-supported treadmill (BWST) walking has been widely investigated for people after stroke, yet there remains a lack of evidence concerning the optimal training duration [...]