RECIPROCATING GAIT ORTHOSIS POWERED WITH ELECTRICAL MUSCLE STIMULATION (RGO-II) .2. MEDICAL EVALUATION OF 70 PARAPLEGIC PATIENTS

Medical evaluation was performed on a group of paraplegics who were tr ained to walk with the Reciprocating Gait Orthosis powered with electr ical muscle stimulation (RGO II). The evaluation included changes in s pasticity, cholesterol level, bone metabolism, cardiac output and stro ke volume, vital capacity, knee extensors torque, and heart rate at th e end of a 30-meter walk. After an average of 14 weeks of training dur ing which patients walked for 3 hours per week, significant reductions in spasticity, total cholesterol and low-density lipids, hydroxyproli ne/creatinine ratio, and increased knee extensor torque were evident. The data also showed that improvements occurred in the calcium/creatin ine ratio, serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase levels, cardiac outp ut and stroke volume, and vital capacity, yet these improvements were not statistically significant. The final heart rate at the end of a 30 -meter walk showed that the RGO II required only a moderate level of e xertion, which was found to be the lowest among the other mechanical o r muscle stimulation orthoses available to paraplegics. It was conclud ed that the limited but reasonable level of functional regain provided by the RGO II is associated with a general improvement in the paraple gic's physiological condition if used for a minimum of 3 to 4 hours pe r week.