Foundational Ingredients of Robotic Gait Training for People with Spinal Cord Injury During Inpatient Therapy

Participants will wear an exoskeleton suit and receive robotic gait training with a physical therapist for 90 minutes each week. Robot gait training will include standing and walking activities while wearing the The Ekso Bionics Ekso GT™ robotic exoskeleton. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about walking and function. They will also be asked to wear a watch measuring their heart rate monitor.

Participants receive usual care gait training with a physical therapist for 90 minutes each week. Usual care gait training includes standard gait training involving standing and walking activities such as conventional overground walking, body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT), overground body weight-supported overground system, and various assistive devices (e.g., BWSTT, overground with braces, walker, etc.). Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about walking and function. They will also be asked to wear a watch measuring their heart rate monitor and number of steps.