A small study has shown that people with crippling trauma-injured spinal cords can stand – even walk – again.

“Being a participant in this study truly changed my life, as it has provided me with a hope that I didn't think was possible after my car accident,” said Kelly Thomas, 23, also referred to as Participant 4. "The first day I took steps on my own was an emotional milestone in my recovery that I'll never forget, as one minute I was walking with the trainer's assistance and, while they stopped, I continued walking on my own. It's amazing what the human body can accomplish with help from research and technology."

All four spine-injured participants in the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville (UofL) “achieved independent standing and trunk stability when using the stimulation and maintaining their mental focus,” according to a university statement. And two of them were even able “to walk over ground with epidural stimulation following epidural stimulation paired with daily locomotor training.”

“Two patients, one with damage to the mid-cervical region and one with damage to the high-thoracic region, achieved overground walking (not on a treadmill) after 278 sessions of epidural stimulation and gait training over a period of 85 weeks, and 81 sessions over a period of 15 weeks,” the study authors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This latest effort builds on work done in 2011, reported in The Lancet, with initial epidural stimulant participant Rob Summers, who recovered a number of motor functions due to the treatment.

"This research demonstrates that some brain-to-spine connectivity may be restored years after a spinal cord injury as these participants living with motor complete paralysis were able to walk, stand, regain trunk mobility and recover a number of motor functions without physical assistance when using the epidural stimulator and maintaining focus to take steps," said author Susan Harkema, Ph.D., professor and associate director of the UofL Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center.

President and CEO of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Peter Wilderotter, told NBC News that the report was “breathtaking.” The foundation did not participate in the Kentucky study.

When the study began, all participants were over 2.5 years post injury and could not stand, walk or move their legs. Physical training began about two months after the stimulator was implanted – five days a week for two hours a day. The stimulator allowed the four to step when it was on and they intended to walk, said researchers. Medtronic provided the epidural electrode arrays, neurostimulators and programming devices, according to the researchers.

Operating Room Homepage