Investigating the Effects of Combining Treadmill Training with Trans-spinal Direct Current Stimulation on Motor Skill Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury

This study assessed the effect of treadmill training with or without trans-spinal direct current stimulation on motor recovery following a T13/L1 spinal cord hemi section in CD-1 mice. Mice all received the same spinal cord injury, which resulted in left hind limb paralysis, and were assigned to one of three groups. Control animals received no treatment. Treadmill only mice were treated with 5 sessions of treadmill training. Treadmill + stimulation animals were treated with concurrent treadmill training and trans-spinal direct current stimulation. Progress was assessed by analyzing each subject’s steps on a horizontal ladder test, which the animals performed both pre-treatment and post-treatment. Data suggests that the combination of treadmill training and trans-spinal direct current stimulation has a significant effect on recovery compared to no treatment. However, limitations were present that will be rectified during further studies to accurately assess the effect of these treatments on the ladder task performance