Non-Invasive Spatiotemporal Spinal Cord Stimulation Paired with Force Perturbations Improves Balance in Individuals Post-Stroke: A Pilot Study.

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility of applying targeted force perturbations paired with spatiotemporal transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation during walking for improving balance in individuals post-stroke. Five individuals with chronic stroke ($>6$ months) were recruited and completed 6 sessions (3 times/week) of balance training paired with spatiotemporal spinal cord stimulation. Balance was assessed pre, post 2 weeks of training, and follow-up, i.e., 2 weeks after the end of training. Results indicated that individuals post-stroke could tolerate the force perturbations applied to the pelvis paired with spatiotemporal spinal cord stimulation during walking. Further, individual post-stroke showed improvements in balance, assessed using the Dynamic Gait Index and Berg Balance Scale scores, after targeted force perturbation balance training paired with spatiotemporal spinal cord stimulation, although this was not significant due to the small sample size. Results from this study suggest that it was feasible to improve balance in individuals poststroke using targeted pelvis force perturbations paired with spatiotemporal spinal cord stimulation during walking.