The influence of new medial linkage orthosis on walking and independence in spinal cord injury patients: a pilot study

This study compares a new medial linkage orthosis (MLO) design with a traditional isocentric reciprocating gait orthosis (IRGO) for spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. The new MLO aims to improve upon existing orthoses by combining features of both RGOs and MLOs. The study assesses gait parameters (walking speed, cadence, stride length) and functional independence (orthosis donning and doffing time) to determine the new MLO's effectiveness.

• 1
  Walking with the MLO improved stride length and speed of walking by 28.57 and 40.9% compared with walking with an IRGO as a control condition.
• 2
  There was significant difference between donning and doffing in two conditions (P = 0.046).
• 3
  The new MLO provided a quicker and more independent gait compared with IRGO, in addition the new MLO made it easier for subjects to get from sitting to standing and from standing to sitting.