{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:32:36Z","timestamp":1787027556149,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004484","name":"Tehran University of Medical Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1404.377"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1404.377"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004484","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["1404.377"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1404.377"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01c4pz451","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Bioengineering"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) frequently experience chronic pain, trunk instability, and respiratory dysfunction. This pilot trial investigated the synergistic effects of a combined neuro-orthotic approach (thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO) plus transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)) versus TLSO alone on pain, trunk control, and respiratory function in chronic incomplete SCI. Methods: Twelve adults with chronic incomplete SCI (T6\u2013T12) were randomized to a combined group (TLSO + TENS) or a control group (TLSO alone) for a four-week intervention. Outcomes included pain (Visual Analogue Scale), trunk control (Trunk Assessment Scale), and respiratory function (tidal volume [VT], respiratory rate [RR], oxygen uptake [VO2], ventilatory equivalent for oxygen [VE\/VO2], and inspiratory duty cycle [Ti\/Ttot]) assessed at three time points (before intervention, immediately after intervention, and after one month). Results: The combined group demonstrated a significant reduction in pain (47.8% vs. 10.4%, p = 0.01) and an improvement in Ti\/Ttot (33.3% vs. 4.9%, p = 0.008) compared to the control group. Both groups showed significant improvements in VT and RR over time (p &lt; 0.05), reflecting the biomechanical benefits of TLSO. Conclusions: Integrating TENS with TLSO offers a non-invasive strategy for managing chronic pain and improving respiratory pattern coordination in incomplete SCI. While TLSO optimizes basic ventilatory mechanics, adding TENS significantly enhances neural drive for efficient breathing and pain gating. Future large-scale trials incorporating active task-specific training are needed to restore functional trunk control.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bioengineering13080925","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T15:48:36Z","timestamp":1786722516000},"page":"925","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparing Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Added to Thoracolumbosacral Orthosis with Thoracolumbosacral Orthosis Alone on Pain, Trunk Control, and Respiratory Function in Chronic Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6400-5826","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hanieh","family":"Khaliliyan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 8174673461, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arash","family":"Sharafatvaziri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Orthopedic Trans-Disciplinary Applied Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1461884513, Iran"},{"name":"Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Alanbia Hospital, Tehran 145414515, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4719-938X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mahmood","family":"Bahramizadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuromusculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran 1461884513, Iran"},{"name":"Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1461884513, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1813-0228","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amirhossein","family":"Zare","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 8174673461, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-4572-1141","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Majid","family":"Ansari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1461884513, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saeed Reza","family":"Mehrpour","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Orthopedic Trans-Disciplinary Applied Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1461884513, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4144-3188","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad Hossein","family":"Nabian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Orthopedic Trans-Disciplinary Applied Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1461884513, Iran"},{"name":"Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Alanbia Hospital, Tehran 145414515, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohamad Naghi","family":"Tahmasebi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Orthopedic Trans-Disciplinary Applied Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1461884513, Iran"},{"name":"Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Alanbia Hospital, Tehran 145414515, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Morteza","family":"Faghih Jouibari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1411713135, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9638-7745","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Morad","family":"Karimpour","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439957131, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5145-4235","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ghazaleh","family":"Moradkhani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439957131, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0722-0191","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kavita","family":"Batra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Education and Office of Research, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89106, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22","DOI":"10.4103\/1673-5374.375305","article-title":"The future of artificial hibernation medicine: Protection of nerves and organs after spinal cord injury","volume":"19","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neural Regen. 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