Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40586638›Full record

ArticleThe journal of spinal cord medicine2026

Spinal epidural electrical stimulation for the recovery of motor function in lower limbs after spinal cord injury: A pilot study.

H S Chhabra, K K V Kalidindi, N Garg, A Sharma, B Chhibber, H Kumar, G Vishwakarma, M Gupta, M R Bhat

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. [Emerging role of brain-computer interface in orthopedic rehabilitation and motor function restoration].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2026
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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

9 authors.

H S ChhabraDepartment of Spine & Rehabilitation Centre, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0001-5519-9609
K K V KalidindiDepartment of Orthopedics, AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, India.ORCID 0000-0002-4408-7035
N GargDepartment of Physiotherapy, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0009-0005-1785-1885
A SharmaDepartment of Spine & Rehabilitation Centre, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0009-0008-5027-4639
B ChhibberDepartment of Physiotherapy, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0009-0005-5418-011X
H KumarDepartment of Physiotherapy, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0009-0006-3620-8374
G VishwakarmaDepartment of Biostatistics, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0002-4312-7058
M GuptaDepartment of Orthopedics, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0002-4714-3442
M R BhatKing Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0003-1199-5798

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designSingle-arm prospective pilot study. PURPOSE: To assess the safety and efficacy of sEES in the recovery of motor function after severe SCI in the Indian population and to evaluate the feasibility of a larger study. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Standing and walking are highly desirable goals for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Activity-based locomotor training is the only available practice to enhance recovery at present. However, it does not yield significant outcomes in individuals with severe spinal cord injury. In recent years, Spinal epidural electrical stimulation (sEES) has been reported to produce rhythmic motor activity in limbs in a few case reports and also in clinical trials in animals and more recently, in a few human case reports.

methodsWe conducted a single-arm prospective pilot study at a tertiary care spine surgery center in five subjects with chronic spinal cord injury with an absence of useful power in lower limbs and satisfying the eligibility criteria. The Institute Ethics Committee and the Research Review Committee approved the study and it was registered with the Clinical Trials Registry of India.

resultsNo intraoperative or early postoperative complications were noted in any of the subjects. Two subjects had wound complications at 1 and 3 months, respectively and were managed successfully. All of these participants were unable to stand, step, or walk without assistance before the recruitment. With epidural stimulation, four subjects gained better control of standing full weight bearing (without assistance). Four (

conclusionssEES is a safe intervention. Locomotor training with sEES improves the motor abilities and functional recovery of persons with chronic SCI. A larger prospective study with more subjects needs to be done to draw a definite conclusion and seems to be feasible using the protocol, outcome measures, and recruitment strategy of the pilot study.

Indexed as

Electric Stimulation TherapyLower ExtremityRecovery of FunctionSpinal Cord InjuriesSpinal Cord StimulationAdultEpidural SpaceFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsProspective StudiesElectrical stimulationEpidural stimulationPilot studySpinal cord injurySpinal cord stimulation

Identifiers

PMID40586638
PMCPMC13295126

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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.