title: Usefulness of robotic gait training plus neuromodulation in chronic spinal cord injury: a case report.
abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects more than 2.5 million people worldwide, often leading to severe disability. Thus, a proper management of individuals with SCI is required either in the acute or in the post-acute rehabilitative phase.
  
  
  
  A 31-year-old man, affected by chronic SCI, underwent two different intensive rehabilitation treatments, including either LokomatPro or a paired LokomatPro-rTMS training. We evaluated the clinical, kinetic, and electrophysiological parameters before and after each training session. In particular, the intensive robotic training was articulated in a total of 40 one-hour training sessions (i.e. 5 times a week for 8 weeks), whereas the rTMS sessions were delivered 3 days per week for 3 consecutive weeks, just before the LokomatPro session. Only at the end of the experimental treatment, we observed an important improvement in nearly all parameters we investigated.
  
  
  
  The combined LokomatPro-rTMS rehabilitation may be a valuable approach in improving the motor function in patients affected by SCI, even in the chronic phase.
authors.affiliation: a IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo" Messina , Italy.
authors.forename: Rocco Salvatore
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Calabrò
authors.affiliation: a IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo" Messina , Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naro
authors.affiliation: a IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo" Messina , Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.affiliation: a IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo" Messina , Italy.
authors.forename: Placido
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bramanti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000066530:Neurological Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000628:therapy; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*
keywords: LokomatPro; Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; Robot-assisted gait therapy; Spinal cord injury; Spinal plasticity