Electrical Spinal Cord Stimulation Helps Patients Move (Video)

A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Louisville examines how the stimulation of nerve pathways can help victims of spinal cord injuries regain movement.

Neuroscientist and lead study author of the university Susan Harkema learned that patient Rob Summers who was paralyzed from a spinal cord injury, relearned to move his left toe, and soon after, regained the ability to lift and swing his legs, move his ankles and even sit up without support, according to CNN.

Harkema's experiment involved electrical stimulation sent to the spinal cord, which resulted in an involuntary spasm that has helped other paralyzed patients move in previous studies.

The technology involves implanting a stimulator near the abdomen that connects wires that send charges directly to the spinal cord. The stimulator is controlled via an external remote control that can only be used on one leg at a time, but gives patients the ability to temporarily move. However, at this time, it has not yet given anyone the capability to walk.

"This is a breakthrough," said Dr. Barth Green, co-founder of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami, via the news organization, who was not involved in the study. "It shows you can have a living spinal cord under the layer of their injury."

More information regarding the findings, funded in part by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, can be found via the journal Brain.

Want to see more about how this process works? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.