Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41857841›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2026

Central and peripheral neuroplasticity in cervical spinal cord injury following intensive upper limb motor training: a randomised controlled trial protocol.

Imke Jana Hrycyk, Nele Bertels, Hatice Tankisi, Joanne Valentina Glinsky, Kristine Oostra, Charlotte van Laake-Geelen, Lisa Tedesco Triccas, Annemie Spooren

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06065384 (Central and Peripheral Neuroplasticity in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Following Intensive Upper Limb Motor Training), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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.

NCT06065384 narecruitingnot on this map

Central and Peripheral Neuroplasticity in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Following Intensive Upper Limb Motor Training

TypeinterventionalSponsorAnnemie SpoorenRan2024 to 2027Enrolled44ConditionsSpinal Cord InjuriesArmsexperimental group: intensive motor training, usual care
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Imke Jana HrycykREVAL, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium imke.hrycyk@uhasselt.be.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-1315-7648
Nele BertelsREVAL, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Hatice TankisiDepartment of Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Joanne Valentina GlinskyKolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Kristine OostraDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Universitair Ziekenhuis Gent, Gent, Belgium.
Charlotte van Laake-GeelenAdelante Centre of Expertise in Rehabilitation and Audiology, Adelante, Hoensbroek, The Netherlands.
Lisa Tedesco TriccasREVAL, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Annemie SpoorenREVAL, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis multi-centre, randomised controlled trial (RCT) investigates the effects of intensive upper limb (UL) motor training on neurophysiological and functional recovery in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (c-SCI) during the sub-acute phase. The study aims first to assess neurophysiological adaptations in the central and peripheral nervous systems and functional changes to evaluate the impact of intensive UL motor training on recovery. Second, it determines dose dimensions and their correlation with neural and functional improvements. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A total of 44 individuals with c-SCI within 13 weeks post-injury will be recruited from five rehabilitation centres in Belgium and the Netherlands. They will be randomised into an intervention group, receiving six additional hours of goal-directed UL training per week for 8 weeks, or a control group receiving standard care. Primary outcomes are changes in resting motor threshold, a proxy for corticospinal tract integrity; compound muscle action potential amplitude, indicating peripheral nerve excitability and functionality; and assessments of strength, sensory function and prehension, with the primary comparison between groups at baseline and after the intervention period. Secondary outcomes cover additional neurophysiological assessments and motor function. Dose dimensions will be quantified and related to primary and secondary outcomes. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The central medical ethics committees, METC Máxima MC (NL84212.015.23) and MEC Gent (B6702023000227), as well as local ethics committees, reviewed and approved this trial. The protocol is registered (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT06065384). The findings of this RCT will be disseminated through articles in peer-reviewed journals and at neurological rehabilitation conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT06065384.

Indexed as

Cervical CordExercise TherapyNeuronal PlasticitySpinal Cord InjuriesUpper ExtremityAdultBelgiumCervical VertebraeFemaleHumansMaleMulticenter Studies as TopicNetherlandsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRecovery of FunctionHand & wristNeurophysiologyRandomized Controlled TrialREHABILITATION MEDICINESpineTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation

Identifiers

PMID41857841
PMCPMC13007127

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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.