Hindlimb Immobilization in a Wheelchair Alters Functional Recovery Following Contusive Spinal Cord Injury in the Adult Rat

摘要

BackgroundLocomotor training of rats with thoracic contusion spinal cord injuries can induce task-specific changes in stepping but rarely results in improved overground locomotion, possibly due to a ceiling effect. Thus, the authors hypothesize that incompletely injured rats maximally retrain themselves while moving about in their cages over the first few weeks postinjury.