Locomotor–respiratory synchronization after body weight supported treadmill training in incomplete tetraplegia: a case report

Abstract

Case report. 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). Human Locomotion Research Laboratory, Vancouver, BC, Canada. 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). 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. 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.