{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T17:52:27Z","timestamp":1787507547631,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,18]],"date-time":"2019-11-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1574035200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences","award":["A Grant-in-Aid for Project Research (1655)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["A Grant-in-Aid for Project Research (1655)"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: In this study, we examined the effect of a consecutive 25-week gait training program, consisting of 5-week alternating phases of Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL)-assisted robot gait training and conventional gait training, on the walking ability of a 50-year-old man with a chronic thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI). Materials and Methods: Clinical features of this patient\u2019s paraplegia were as follows: neurological level, T7; American Spinal Cord Injury Association Impairment Scale Score, C; Lower Extremity Motor Score, 20 points; Berg Balance Scale score, 15 points; and Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury, 6 points. The patient completed a 100 m walk, under close supervision, using a walker and bilateral ankle-foot orthoses. The intervention included two phases: phase A, conventional walking practice and physical therapy for 5 weeks, and phase B, walking using the HAL robot (3 d\/week, 30 min\/session), combined with conventional physical therapy, for 5 weeks. A consecutive A-B-A-B-A sequence was used, with a 5-week duration for each phase. Results: The gait training intervention increased the maximum walking speed, cadence, and 2-min walking distance, as well as the Berg Balance and Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury from 15 to 17 and 6 to 7, respectively. Walking speed, stride length, and cadence improved after phase A (but not B). Improved standing balance was associated with measured improvements in measured gait parameters. Conclusion: The walking ability of patients with a chronic SCI may be improved, over a short period by combining gait training, using HAL-assisted and conventional gait training and physical therapy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina55110746","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,18]],"date-time":"2019-11-18T11:18:48Z","timestamp":1574075928000},"page":"746","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A Consecutive 25-Week Program of Gait Training, Using the Alternating Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL\u00ae) Robot and Conventional Training, and its Effects on the Walking Ability of a Patient with Chronic Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury: A Single Case Reversal Design"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"55","author":[{"given":"Atsushi","family":"Kanazawa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences Hospital 4733 Ami-machi Ami, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-0331, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9216-0057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kenichi","family":"Yoshikawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences Hospital 4733 Ami-machi Ami, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-0331, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7864-8753","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kazunori","family":"Koseki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences Hospital 4733 Ami-machi Ami, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-0331, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ryoko","family":"Takeuchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences Hospital 4733 Ami-machi Ami, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-0331, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hirotaka","family":"Mutsuzaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences Hospital 4733 Ami-machi Ami, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-0331, Japan"},{"name":"Centre for Medical Sciences, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences 4669-2 Ami-machi Ami, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-0394, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1080\/16501970117341","article-title":"The Spinal Cord Injury Functional Ambulation Inventory (SCI-FAI)","volume":"33","author":"Fluet","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. 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Rehabil. Res. Dev."}],"container-title":["Medicina"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1648-9144\/55\/11\/746\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T13:35:31Z","timestamp":1760189731000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1648-9144\/55\/11\/746"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,18]]},"references-count":12,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,11]]}},"alternative-id":["medicina55110746"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/medicina55110746","relation":{},"ISSN":["1648-9144"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1648-9144","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,18]]}}}