Abstract
Objective
To test the effect of combined intermittent hypoxia (IH) and body weight–supported
treadmill training (BWSTT) on standing and dynamic balance in persons with incomplete
spinal cord injury (iSCI).
Design
Randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Setting
Rehabilitation medical centers.
Participants
Study participants (N=35) with chronic iSCI with American Spinal Injury Association
grades C and D (>1y postinjury) were randomly assigned to either IH plus BWSTT (n=18)
or continued normoxia (placebo) plus BWSTT protocol (n=17).
Interventions
Participants received either IH (alternating 1.5min 9% inspired O2 with 1.5min 21% inspired O2, 15 cycles per day) or continued normoxia (21% O2) combined with 45 minutes of BWSTT for 5 consecutive days, followed by 3 times per
week IH or normoxia plus BWSTT, for 3 additional weeks.
Main Outcome Measures
Standing balance (normalized jerk and root-mean-square [RMS]) and dynamic balance
(turning duration, cadence in a turn, and turn-to-sit duration) were assessed before
and after IH and normoxia protocol by means of instrumented sway and instrumented
timed Up and Go test.
Results
There was no significant difference in standing balance between interventions for
both normalized jerk and RMS instrumented sway components (both P>.05). There was a significantly faster cadence (P<.001), turning duration (P<.001), and turn-to-sit duration (P=.001) in subjects receiving IH plus BWSTT, compared with placebo.
Conclusions
A 4-week protocol of IH combined with locomotor training improves dynamic, but not
standing, balance in persons with iSCI.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association), BBS (Berg Balance Scale), BWSTT (body weight–supported treadmill training), CI (confidence interval), IH (intermittent hypoxia), IQR (interquartile range), iSCI (incomplete spinal cord injury), SCI (spinal cord injury), RMS (root-mean-square), TUG (timed Up and Go)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 01, 2016
Footnotes
Supported by the Fondecyt Grant, National Commission of Scientific and Technological Research, Chile (grant no. 11140120).
Clinical Trial Registration No.: NCT02441179.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
