Effectiveness of FES Assisted Intensive Locomotor Training on Walking in Patient with Pott?s Paraplegia: A Single Case Study

Background: Pott's disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis is serious form of spinal cord infection leading to subsequent neurologic compromise. In these patients the basic rehabilitation approaches would minimize the assistance of other people. Interventions for walking may enable improvement due to the processes of neuroplasticity. Repetitive retraining of walking after SCI would promote gait restoration through "central pattern generator", responsible for rhythmic oscillations of lower limbs. Activation of paralyzed lower limbs during locomotion is facilitated through flexor withdrawal response using FES. Hence, this study is done to show the effectiveness of FES assisted locomotor training intensively to promote early independent walking in Pott's Paraplegic patients. Methodology: Intense locomotor training with conventional therapy was given for 4 hours per day for 6 days per week for 12 weeks. For the evaluation of walking ability in Pott's paraplegic patient, pre and post post-intervention measures were taken using WISCI-II scale and 10MWT. Results: It showed increase in the level of independence in terms of improvement in the WISCI II level 1 to level 19, along with change in the Walking velocity. Conclusion: FES assisted Intensive gait training leads to early walking ability in pott's paraplegic patients.