Lateral foot placement correlation with com dynamics is stronger after movement amplification gait training in spinal cord injury

Two ambulatory individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) received two months of gait training performed in a movement amplification environment. Specifically, during treadmill walking a cable robot applied a continuous lateral force to the pelvis proportional in magnitude and in the same direction as real-time lateral velocity. The movement amplification environment substantially increased the challenge to control lateral motion. Following training, participants improved walking speed as well as functional gait and balance scores. Participants also made changes in their preferred walking patterns. Participants decreased step width, increased step length, and had stronger correlations between lateral foot placement and center of mass (COM) dynamics during unassisted treadmill walking. Our findings suggest movement amplification gait training may enhance locomotor stability and facilitate positive changes in the underlying mechanisms individuals with iSCI utilize to maintain gait stability.