Abstract
Study design:
Case report.
Objectives:
To report on the respiratory and kinematic changes associated with body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) in an individual with an incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting:
Human Locomotion Research Laboratory, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Methods:
A 38-year-old man with an incomplete SCI at the C1/C2 level, graded on the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) as AIS D, participated in this case study. He performed three BWSTT sessions (45 min) per week for 12 weeks. Before and after training, respiration was measured at the mouth using a pneumotachograph while treadmill walking at 1.6 km h−1.
Results:
Completion of 12 weeks of BWSTT resulted in a lowering of minute ventilation during treadmill exercise. A coupling of locomotion and respiration was observed during treadmill walking after the training program, whereas the relationship was initially absent.
Conclusion:
This case illustrates that BWSTT can result in a reduced ventilatory demand and promote locomotor–respiratory coupling during walking in an individual with an incomplete cervical SCI.
Similar content being viewed by others
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
References
Morin D, Viala D . Coordinations of locomotor and respiratory rhythms in vitro are critically dependent on hindlimb sensory inputs. J Neurosci 2002; 22: 4756–4765.
Giraudin A, Cabirol-Pol MJ, Simmers J, Morin D . Intercostal and abdominal respiratory motoneurons in the neonatal rat spinal cord: spatiotemporal organization and responses to limb afferent stimulation. J Neurophysiol 2008; 99: 2626–2640.
Eldridge FL, Millhorn DE, Waldrop TG . Exercise hyperpnea and locomotion: parallel activation from the hypothalamus. Science 1981; 211: 844–846.
Garlando F, Kohl J, Koller EA, Pietsch P . Effect of coupling the breathing- and cycling rhythms on oxygen uptake during bicycle ergometry. Eur J Appl Physiol 1985; 54: 497–501.
Dempsey JA, Sheel AW, St Croix CM, Morgan BJ . Respiratory influences on sympathetic vasomotor outflow in humans. Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2002; 130: 3–20.
Acknowledgements
We thank Kathryn Luttmann and Katherine Pauhl for valuable assistance with the body weight supported treadmill training program. This study was supported by the British Columbia Medical Services Foundation, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). MFB Sherman was supported by graduate scholarships from NSERC and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). AW Sheel was supported by a Scholar Award from the MSFHR and a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sherman, M., Lam, T. & Sheel, A. Locomotor–respiratory synchronization after body weight supported treadmill training in incomplete tetraplegia: a case report. Spinal Cord 47, 896–898 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2009.50
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2009.50
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Locomotor-respiratory coupling in ambulatory adults with incomplete spinal cord injury
Spinal Cord Series and Cases (2022)
-
Effect of repeated locomotor training on ventilatory measures, perceived exertion and walking endurance in persons with motor incomplete spinal cord injury
Spinal Cord Series and Cases (2020)
-
Attentional focus does not impact locomotor–respiratory coupling in trained runners
European Journal of Applied Physiology (2020)
-
Effects of overground locomotor training on the ventilatory response to volitional treadmill walking in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury: a pilot study
Spinal Cord Series and Cases (2017)
-
Does locomotor training improve pulmonary function in patients with spinal cord injury?
Spinal Cord (2015)
