Changes in bowel function following exoskeletal-assisted walking in persons with spinal cord injury: an observational pilot study
Autor: | Noam Y. Harel, William A. Bauman, Stephen Kornfeld, Steven Knezevic, Vincent Huang, Pierre Asselin, Mark A. Korsten, Ann M. Spungen, Audrey Chun |
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Rok vydání: | 2019 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male 030506 rehabilitation medicine.medical_specialty Adolescent medicine.medical_treatment Laxative Bowel management Pilot Projects Walking Article Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Quality of life medicine Humans Prospective Studies Lost to follow-up Defecation Spinal cord injury Spinal Cord Injuries Aged Paraplegia business.industry digestive oral and skin physiology General Medicine Middle Aged Exoskeleton Device medicine.disease digestive system diseases Patient Outcome Assessment Neurology Ambulatory Physical therapy Female Observational study Neurology (clinical) 0305 other medical science business 030217 neurology & neurosurgery |
Zdroj: | Spinal cord |
ISSN: | 1476-5624 1362-4393 |
Popis: | Study Design Prospective, observational study Objective To explore the effects of exoskeleton-assisted walking (EAW) on bowel function in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting Ambulatory research facility located in a tertiary care hospital Methods Individuals 18–65 years of age, with thoracic vertebrae one (T1) to T11 motor-complete paraplegia of at least 12 months duration were enrolled. Pre- and post-EAW training, participants were asked to report on various aspects of their bowel function as well as on their overall quality of life (QOL) as related to their bowel function. Results Ten participants completed 25–63 sessions of EAW over a period of 12 to 14 weeks, one participant was lost to follow up due to early withdrawal after 10 sessions. Due to the small sample size, each participant’s results were presented descriptively in a case series format. At least 5/10 participants reported improvements with frequency of bowel evacuations, less time spent on bowel management per bowel day, fewer bowel accidents per month, reduced laxative and/or stool softener use, and improved overall satisfaction with their bowel program post-EAW training. Furthermore, 8/10 reported improved stool consistency and 7/10 reported improved bowel function related QOL. One participant reported worsening of bowel function post-EAW. Conclusion Between 50 and 80% of the participants studied reported improvements in bowel function and/or management post-EAW training. EAW training appeared to mitigate SCI-related bowel dysfunction and the potential benefits of EAW on bowel function after SCI is worthy or further study. Sponsorship N/A |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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