Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34776919›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurorobotics2021

Rehabilitation of Acute Vs. Chronic Patients With Spinal Cord Injury With a Neurologically Controlled Hybrid Assistive Limb Exoskeleton: Is There a Difference in Outcome?

Amrei Zieriacks, Mirko Aach, Alexis Brinkemper, Daniela Koller, Thomas Armin Schildhauer, Dennis Grasmücke

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neurorobotics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. "White Cord Syndrome" as clinical manifestation of the spinal cord reperfusion syndrome: a systematic review of risk factors, treatments, and outcome.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Editorial: Bioengineering for spinal cord injury.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Challenges in Translating Regenerative Therapies for Spinal Cord Injury.Topics in spinal cord injury rehabilitation · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Amrei ZieriacksDepartment of Spinal Cord Injuries, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany.
Mirko AachDepartment of Spinal Cord Injuries, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany.
Alexis BrinkemperDepartment of General and Trauma Surgery, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany.
Daniela KollerInstitute for Medical Information Processing, Biometrics and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Thomas Armin SchildhauerDepartment of General and Trauma Surgery, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany.
Dennis GrasmückeDepartment of Spinal Cord Injuries, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany.
BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil Bochum · DELudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the outcome of acute and chronic participants with spinal cord injury (SCI) after 12 weeks of bodyweight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) with a hybrid assistive limb exoskeleton (HAL). Acute participants were defined as ≤12 months between SCI and training, chronic participants >12 months between SCI and training. We assessed whether HAL-assisted BWSTT is advantageous for acute and chronic participants and if length of time post injury impacts the outcome of HAL-assisted BWSTT. As the primary outcome, we assessed the time needed for the 10 meter walk test (10MWT). Hundred and twenty-one individuals participated in a 12-week HAL-assisted BWSTT five times a week. We regularly conducted a 10MWT, a 6 minute walk test (6MWT), and assessed the walking index for spinal cord injury (WISCI II) and lower extremity motor score (LEMS) to evaluate the gait performance without the exoskeleton. Distance and time were recorded by the treadmill while the participant was walking with the exoskeleton. All participants benefit from the 12-week HAL-assisted BWSTT. A significant difference between acute and chronic participants' outcomes was found in 6MWT, LEMS, and WISCI II, though not in 10MWT. Although chronic participants improved significantly lesser than acute participants, they did improve their outcome significantly compared to the beginning. Hybrid assistive limb-assisted BWSTT in the rehabilitation of patients with SCI is advantageous for both acute and chronic patients. We could not define a time related cut-off threshold following SCI for effectiveness of HAL-assisted BWSTT.

Indexed as

exoskeletonhybrid assistive limbrehabilitationspinal cord injurytraining

Identifiers

PMID34776919
PMCPMC8578862
OpenAlexW3210773655

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.