Spinal Cord InjuryNCT02560506
Development of Low Cost Devices to Increase Access to Treadmill Training
A study testing Elastic assisted treadmill walking in people with Spinal Cord Injury, run by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goals of this Model System Program are to expand upon and advance the findings and outcomes of previous and current Model Systems clinical research, to continue to develop and study the effectiveness of innovative treatment strategies for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI); and to evaluate the benefits of a… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 75 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Spinal Cord Injury
- What is being tested?
- Elastic assisted treadmill walking
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 19 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Jan 2008to Sep 2016
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 75 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- non-progressive lesion between spinal levels C1-T10 of > 3 months duration. Subjects with below T10 will be excluded due to potential lower motor neuron (LMN) injury
- score > 10 on the Lower Extremity Motor Score (LEMS) developed previously to measure strength in SCI. For the LEMS criteria, preliminary data indicate that subjects with LEMS < 10 in the chronic stages do not recover walking
- All subjects must require physical assistance to ambulate on the treadmill at a speed of 4.0 kmph at 0% body weight support (BWS)
- All subjects will have an overground gait speed <.8m/s
- range of motion (ankle: -10 to 30 deg, knee: 0 to 90 deg, hip: -10 to 40 deg) consistent with gait
- medically stable with medical clearance to participate (absence of concurrent illness, including unhealed decubiti, infection, cardiopulmonary disease, osteoporosis, active heterotrophic ossification or peripheral nerve damage in the lower limbs, history of traumatic head injury)
- able to tolerate 30 minutes of upright (standing) position without orthostasis (decrease in blood pressure by 20 mmHg systolic and 10 mmHg diastolic; minimized with ambulatory population)
- women of childbearing potential
Who cannot join
- women who are pregnant will be excluded due to potential forces at trunk from BWS or pelvic assistance
- those in concurrent physical therapy to eliminate effects of additional interventions
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60611
About this study
The goals of this Model System Program are to expand upon and advance the findings and outcomes of previous and current Model Systems clinical research, to continue to develop and study the effectiveness of innovative treatment strategies for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI); and to evaluate the benefits of a well-designed, comprehensive, coordinated, interdisciplinary continuum of care that lead to improved outcomes for all persons with SCI. In order to achieve these goals, the following objectives of the Midwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System (MRSCICS) model system grant proposal will be accomplished.
Read the detailed description
The investigators will develop and assess the use of spring-loaded devices to assist limb swing and forward propulsion during body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) (Aim 1). Prototype models of both devices have been developed.
These devices will be:
- simple to use in the clinical setting;
- will be easily adjustable to alter the assistance provided; and,
- will be able to quantify the amount of assistance necessary to facilitate normal stepping patterns.
The investigators will also evaluate short- and long-term adaptations in locomotor performance following BWSTT in individuals with incomplete SCI with the use of these devices. This information will identify the effects of variable assistance at the limbs or trunk to modulate muscle activity and/or motor performance (kinematics) during stepping to maximize walking recovery.
- Conditions
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Being tested
- Elastic assisted treadmill walking
- Medical subject headings
- Spinal Cord Injuries
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Elastic assisted treadmill walkingDevice
Also called Theraband(R)
Rubber band pulley system that will assist therapists in advancing limbs while gait training. The device is positioned in front of a treadmill and the stretch of the elastic bands when a legs moves backwards on a treadmill is resists the movement and facilitates limb swing when walking.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Elastic assisted treadmill walking | Experimental | Participants will participate in treadmill training with a low cost pulley system device made of rubber bands (Theraband(R)), which will assist therapists in advancing limbs while gait training. Receives: Device: Elastic assisted treadmill walking |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Locomotor Performance During Treadmill Walking
Evaluation of the changes in treadmill speed (m/s) prior to and following use of the device
Measured: change from Baseline in treadmill speed at 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes (1)
Gait Kinematics
consistency of hip-knee angles
Measured: change from Baseline in treadmill speed at 8 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted25 Sep 2015 (estimated)
- Study startJan 2008
- Primary completionSep 2016
- Study completionSep 2016
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Other trials for Spinal Cord InjuryStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Shirley Ryan AbilityLabThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 19 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Thomas G Hornby, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
- Investigators
- Thomas G Hornby, PhD, Principal investigator, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02560506
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Model Systems
- Status last verified
- Apr 2026
- First submitted
- 15 Sep 2015
- Last updated
- 27 Apr 2026
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 Apr 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Development of Low Cost Devices to Increase Access to Treadmill Training
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02560506
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Model Systems
- Conditions
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 19 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLabUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Jan 2008
- Primary completion
- Sep 2016 (actual)
- Study completion
- Sep 2016 (actual)
- First posted
- 25 Sep 2015 (estimated)
- Results
- Posted 27 Apr 2026
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goals of this Model System Program are to expand upon and advance the findings and outcomes of previous and current Model Systems clinical research, to continue to develop and study the effectiveness of innovative treatment strategies for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI); and to evaluate the benefits of a well-designed, comprehensive, coordinated, interdisciplinary continuum of care that lead to improved outcomes for all persons with SCI. In order to achieve these goals, the following objectives of the Midwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System (MRSCICS) model system grant proposal will be accomplished.
Detailed description
The investigators will develop and assess the use of spring-loaded devices to assist limb swing and forward propulsion during body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) (Aim 1). Prototype models of both devices have been developed.
These devices will be:
- simple to use in the clinical setting;
- will be easily adjustable to alter the assistance provided; and,
- will be able to quantify the amount of assistance necessary to facilitate normal stepping patterns.
The investigators will also evaluate short- and long-term adaptations in locomotor performance following BWSTT in individuals with incomplete SCI with the use of these devices. This information will identify the effects of variable assistance at the limbs or trunk to modulate muscle activity and/or motor performance (kinematics) during stepping to maximize walking recovery.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Elastic assisted treadmill walking | Experimental | Device: Elastic assisted treadmill walkingParticipants will participate in treadmill training with a low cost pulley system device made of rubber bands (Theraband(R)), which will assist therapists in advancing limbs while gait training. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 75 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (8 listed)
- non-progressive lesion between spinal levels C1-T10 of > 3 months duration. Subjects with below T10 will be excluded due to potential lower motor neuron (LMN) injury
- score > 10 on the Lower Extremity Motor Score (LEMS) developed previously to measure strength in SCI. For the LEMS criteria, preliminary data indicate that subjects with LEMS < 10 in the chronic stages do not recover walking
- All subjects must require physical assistance to ambulate on the treadmill at a speed of 4.0 kmph at 0% body weight support (BWS)
- All subjects will have an overground gait speed <.8m/s
- range of motion (ankle: -10 to 30 deg, knee: 0 to 90 deg, hip: -10 to 40 deg) consistent with gait
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- women who are pregnant will be excluded due to potential forces at trunk from BWS or pelvic assistance
- those in concurrent physical therapy to eliminate effects of additional interventions
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Elastic assisted treadmill walkingAlso: Theraband(R)Rubber band pulley system that will assist therapists in advancing limbs while gait training. The device is positioned in front of a treadmill and the stretch of the elastic bands when a legs moves backwards on a treadmill is resists the movement and facilitates limb swing when walking. | Device | Elastic assisted treadmill walking |
Primary outcome
Change in Locomotor Performance During Treadmill Walking
Time frame: change from Baseline in treadmill speed at 8 weeks
Evaluation of the changes in treadmill speed (m/s) prior to and following use of the device
1 secondary outcome
Gait Kinematics
Time frame: change from Baseline in treadmill speed at 8 weeks
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 Apr 2026.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Thomas G Hornby, PhD principal investigator
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Elastic assisted treadmill walking in people with Spinal Cord Injury, run by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Apr 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 27 Apr 2026). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in Locomotor Performance During Treadmill Walking (time frame: change from Baseline in treadmill speed at 8 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Apr 2026.