Sensorimotor Integration Underlying Balance Control in Individuals With Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury

January 6, 2022 updated by: Dorothy Barthélemy, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal

Sensorimotor Integration Underlying Balance Control in Individuals With Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: Assessing Neural Changes After the Injury and Promoting Recovery Through Specific Training

The objectives of the study are to evaluate a 4-week mixed training paradigm consisting of explosive strength training and balance perturbation training efficacy on balance control during standing and locomotion, and to understand the mechanisms of neuroplasticity that would improve sensorimotor integration at supraspinal and spinal levels.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

After obtaining their consent, participants will undertake evaluations at different times:

  1. Assessment 1 week prior to training
  2. Training over 4 weeks (nature of the training depends on the group)
  3. Assessment 1 week after training
  4. Assessment 1 month after training (follow-up)

Each assessment will be divided in 2 sessions and data will be collected over 2 days, at one session per day. Days can be consecutive or non-consecutive but will be within a given week. The assessment consists of:

  • Session 1 (S1; duration: 3h) will include presentation of the Study and obtainment of consent, clinical tests, galvanic vestibular stimulation testing, postural reactions and gait assessment.
  • Session 2 (S2; duration: 3h) will include muscle strength, short-afference inhibition, paired pulse and trans cranial magnetic stimulation conditioning of H reflex.

After the initial assessment, iSCI participants will be separated in 2 groups and will receive combination of explosive strength and balance training or no intervention. The training will span over 12 sessions (3 times per week for 4 weeks) and each training session will last approximately 1h (including effective training and installation periods).

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
36

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

FOR PARTICIPANTS WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Have an incomplete lesion of spinal cord
  • Level of spinal cord lesion between C5 and T12
  • At least, 6 months post-injury
  • Be considered as AIS C or D
  • Be able to stand without support for 15 seconds
  • Be able to provide informed consent in English or in French

Exclusion Criteria:

  • To have cognitive deficits
  • To have personal or family history of epilepsy
  • To have suffered moderate or severe traumatic brain injury
  • To have cochlear implant

FOR CONTROL PARTICIPANTS

Exclusion Criteria:

  • To have orthopedics problems
  • To have cognitive deficits
  • To have neurological problems

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Combined explosive strength and specific balance training group
This group will be formed with participants with incomplete spinal cord injury. This group will perform 4 weeks of combined explosive strength and specific balance training.
Other: Combined explosive strength and specific balance training group

Training will consist to perform one hour of combined ankle explosive strength training and specific balance training using randomized perturbations.

Explosive strength training: Participants will perform only 2 sets of 3 min (12 contractions for each set) for both lower limbs and both ankle plantar- and dorsiflexion movements.

Balance specific training: Participants will be standing, secured by an adjusted harness, which do not support the weight but is strictly there to prevent a fall. They will have online visual feedback of their CoP via an avatar on the screen in front of them. Each training session will consist of 10 sequences of 3 min, including the 5 different conditions:

  • Forward tilt of base of support;
  • Backward tilt of base of support;
  • Translation forward;
  • Translation backward;
  • Without moving their feet, participants will have to move their avatar to reach different targets placed around them on the screen, at different distance from the center.
No Intervention: Spinal cord injury control group
This group will be formed with participants with incomplete spinal cord injury. They will perform all the evaluation before and after a 4-week period of rest (no training).
No Intervention: Healthy control group
Healthy participants will be recruited based on the age and sex of the participants with incomplete spinal cord injury to realize clinical and neurophysiological cortical evaluations.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in muscles EMG responses following balance perturbation
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Evaluation of the latency on Soleus and Tibialis anterior muscles EMG following backward and forward perturbations will be done.
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Change in center of pressure displacement following balance perturbation using a force platform
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Excursion of centre of pressure will be analyzed following forward and backward perturbation.
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Change in ankle muscle strength using force transducer
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Evaluation of isometric dorsi- and planti-flexors muscle strength in Newton will be done using a force transducer attached to the participant's feet.
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in intracortical mechanisms using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
A paired-pulses paradigm (two trans cranial magnetic stimulations at motor cortex level) will be used to evaluate the intracortical mechanisms
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Change in the influence of peripheral afferents on cortical output using short-afference inhibition
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
A stimulation (using TMS) at motor cortex level will be triggered just after a peripheral electrical stimulation of tibial nerve to evaluate the peripheral afferents on cortical output.
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Change in the modulation of the H reflex by the corticospinal tract
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
A stimulation (using TMS) at motor cortex level will be triggered just before a tibial nerve stimulation to evaluate the modulation of the H reflex by the corticospinal tract.
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Change in EMG responses following vestibular stimulations during quiet standing
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Galvanic vestibular stimulation will be triggered during quiet standing. EMG responses of Soleus and Tibialis Anterior muscles will be analyzed.
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Change in the excursion of the center of pressure following vestibular stimulations
Time Frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention
Galvanic vestibular stimulation will be triggered during quiet standing. The displacement of the center of pressure will be analyzed using a force platform.
Pre-intervention, immediately after and one-month after intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
MOntreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score
Time Frame: Before enrollment
The maximal score is 30 and minimal score 0.
Before enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 9, 2018

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2022

Study Completion (Anticipated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 1, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 6, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 20, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 20, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 6, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CRIR 1325-0118

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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