Transcutaneous stimulation improves hand function in people with complete tetraplegia
During transcutaneous stimulation of the spinal cord, this research participant with tetraplegia is able to voluntarily grip and control a water bottle.
CREDIT
Kessler Foundation/Jody Banks
East Hanover, NJ. Kessler Foundation researchers demonstrated that spinal cord transcutaneous stimulation (scTS) combined with hand training improves upper extremity and hand function in individuals with motor and sensory compete spinal cord injury (SCI). The study results showed immediate and long-lasting gains in strength, sensibility, and voluntary motor function.
The authors are Fan Zhang, PhD, Kamyar Momeni, PhD, Arvind Ramanujam, MS, Manikandan Ravi, MS, Janelle Carnahan, PT, Steven Kirshblum, MD, and Gail F. Forrest, PhD, affiliated with the Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research and the Tim and Caroline Reynolds Center for Spinal Stimulation at Kessler Foundation.
For people with tetraplegia, recovering hand and upper extremity function is a top priority, as it allows them to regain the ability to perform some everyday tasks. Even a small degree of functional improvement can bring with it increased independence, vastly improving their quality of life.
While previous studies have investigated whether scTS is effective in improving upper extremity and hand function in individuals with motor complete and incomplete cervical SCI, it remained unclear whether scTS can facilitate functional restoration in an individual with motor and sensory complete tetraplegia, according to lead author Dr. Zhang, an associate research scientist at the Reynolds Center for Spinal Stimulation. Moreover, previous studies did not report follow-up testing, leaving open the question of whether scTS had long-lasting benefit.
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