In a study by Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU) Department of Health and Human Performance, a treadmill at the bottom of a tank filled with 270 gallons of water has been helping paraplegics make great strides. This same technique has also been applied to children with cerebral palsy (CP) to improve their endurance and leg strength.

In a previous study which ran from 2005-2008 at MTSU, children with cerebral palsy trained in the underwater treadmill and showed better leg efficiency and strength after only three sessions a week for eight weeks. They were also able to walk faster on dry land.

Sandra Stevens, a PhD graduate who is now an independent researcher at the university, has been studying the effects of the underwater treadmill since 2005. Her doctoral dissertation at MTSU observed 12 adults with incomplete spinal cord injuries who trained in the same way as the children with CP. These participants had some motor or sensory functions preserved below the level of the injury. Those who completed the study in 2010 had significantly improved motor function. Some showed increased stability during transfers and others even lost the need for a device to assist with walking. They also reported an improved sense of well-being and self-confidence, due to a renewed hope in gaining mobility.

The current study involving the underwater treadmill at MTSU focuses on helping those with complete spinal cord injury. One participant, Carmen Thompson, was paralyzed from the waist down in a freak accident in 2007. Before training, she could not stand or put any weight on her legs at all. Since beginning the study in August, 2011, Thompson initially began to feel something like an electric current when she rubbed her legs. Next, she was able to stand on her walker outside of the tank. “Being a complete paraplegic, my legs should just give way,” Thompson tells the Daily News Journal.

By October, Thompson was shocked to discover that she could move her toes during a strength test. “My spinal cord was demolished. Neurologically, I shouldn’t be able to move my feet at all,” she says. Now she is able to stand by herself in a walker or at a counter. She can also initiate some steps in the water herself. While she was only supposed to participate in the study for six months, Stevens says, “She has demonstrated enough improvement that she doesn’t want to stop. We want to see how long the improvement will continue.”

Results like these cannot help but give hope to those with cerebral palsy and other disabilities like Thompson’s. Research continues at MTSU.

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