Walking and Balance Outcomes Are Improved Following Brief Intensive Locomotor Skill Training but Are Not Augmented by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Persons With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury.

Unlabelled: Motor training to improve walking and balance function is a common aspect of rehabilitation following motor-incomplete spinal cord injury (MISCI). Evidence suggests that moderate- to high-intensity exercise facilitates neuroplastic mechanisms that support motor skill acquisition and learning. Furthermore, enhancing corticospinal drive via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may augment the effects of motor training.

Combined Transcutaneous Spinal Stimulation and Locomotor Training to Improve Walking Function and Reduce Spasticity in Subacute Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Study of Clinical Feasibility and Efficacy.

Locomotor training (LT) is intended to improve walking function and can also reduce spasticity in motor-incomplete spinal cord injury (MISCI). Transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS) also influences these outcomes. We assessed feasibility and preliminary efficacy of combined LT + TSS during inpatient rehabilitation in a randomized, sham-controlled, pragmatic study.

Effects of School Backpacks on Spine Biomechanics During Daily Activities: A Narrative Review of Literature.

Objective: The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize the effects of carrying school backpacks on spine and low-back biomechanics as a risk factor for low back pain in young individuals.

Background: Backpacks constitute a considerable daily load for schoolchildren. Consistently, a large number of children attribute their low back pain experience to backpack use.

Alterations in trunk bending stiffness following changes in stability and equilibrium demands of a load holding task.

The contribution of the trunk neuromuscular system (TNS) to spine stability has been shown in earlier studies by characterizing changes in antagonistic activity of trunk muscles following alterations in stability demands of a task. Whether and/or how much such changes in the response of TNS to alteration in stability demand of the task alter spinal stiffness remains unclear. To address this research gap, a repeated measure study was conducted on twenty gender-balanced asymptomatic individuals to evaluate changes in trunk bending stiffness throughout the lumbar spine's range of flexion following alterations in both stability and equilibrium demands of a load holding task.

The effects of backpack type on lumbo-pelvic coordination during trunk bending and return tasks.

Backpacks with ergonomic features are recommended to mitigate the risk of developing low back pain due to carrying a heavy school backpack. A repeated measure study was conducted on 40 college-age students to investigate the immediate changes in magnitude and timing aspects of lumbo-pelvic coordination when carrying an ergonomically modified vs. a normal backpack relative to no backpack condition during trunk forward bending and backward return tasks.