Effects of a lower limb walking exoskeleton on quality of life and activities of daily living in patients with complete spinal cord injury: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: In recent years, lower limb walking exoskeletons have been widely used in the study of spinal cord injury (SCI). OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of a lower limb walking exoskeleton on quality of life and functional independence in patients with motor complete SCI. METHODS: This was a multi-center, single blind, randomized controlled trial. A total of 16 SCI patients were randomly assigned to either the exoskeleton-assisted walking (EAW) group (n = 8) or the conventional group (n = 8). Both groups received conventional rehabilitation training, including aerobic exercise and strength training. The EAW group additionally conducted the exoskeleton-assisted walking training using an AIDER powered robotic exoskeleton for 40-50 minutes, 5 times/week for 8 weeks. World Health Organization quality of life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Spinal Cord Independence Measure III (SCIM-III) were used for assessment before and after training. RESULTS: There was an increasing tendency of scores in the psychological health, physical health, and social relationships domain of WHOQOL-BREF in the EAW group after the intervention compared with the pre-intervention period, but there was no significant difference (P > 0.05). SCIM-III scores increased in both groups compared to pre-training, with only the conventional group showing a significant difference after 8 weeks of training (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: A lower limb walking exoskeleton may have potential benefits for quality of life and activities of daily living in patients with motor complete SCI.