Participants
injuy, brachial muscle, spasticity, contracture, arthrodesis, lower extremity fracture
RECRUITMENT, ULCERS, SPINAL CORD
This clinical study focused on individuals with incomplete SCI less than 1 year since injuy. The cohort was recruited at the National Hospital for Paraplegics (Toledo, Spain) and the eligibility criteria were: age between 16 and 70 years old; C2-L4 level of injury; severity (American Spinal Cord Injury Association Impairment Scale [AIS] C or D); time since injury less than 12 months; enough strength in the upper limbs necessary to handle a walker or crutches (triceps brachial muscle balance ≥ 3); the capacity to tolerate standing; spasticity in lower limb muscles ≤ 2 according to the Modified Ashworth scale; and signing of informed consent. Participants were excluded if they were pregnant or had: any other neurological condition apart from SCI; a recent lower extremity fracture (less than 1 year); irreducible contracture or arthrodesis in the lower limb joints; ulcers sores at the contact points with the exoskeleton. Although to facilitate recruitment, the age range of the inclusion criteria was very wide, most of the subjects were between 33 and 59 years old except 4 who were 19, 23, 64 and 71 bearing the heterogeneity of the cohort.