Effects of Breathing Mild Bouts of Low Oxygen on Limb Mobility After Spinal Injury
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
- Where
- Cambridge, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 44 people, planned
- Started
- Oct 2014
- Expected to end
- Nov 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- AIH
- Walk
- Strength
- Record updated
- 20 March 2026
Who can take part
- Age
- 18 years to 75 years
- Sex
- Women and men
- Healthy volunteers
- Can take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 12 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Age 18 and 75 years (the latter to reduce likelihood of heart disease)
- Medical clearance to participate
- Lesion at or below C2 and above T12 with non-progressive etiology
- Classified as motor-incomplete with visible volitional leg movement
- Injury greater than 1 year
Who cannot take part
- Concurrent severe medical illness (i.e., infection, cardiovascular disease, ossification, recurrent autonomic dysreflexia, unhealed decubiti, and history of pulmonary complications)
- Undergoing concurrent physical therapy
- History of seizures, brain injury, and/or epilepsy
- Diabetes
- Caffeine and/or NSAID allergies or intolerances
- Pregnant women because of the unknown affects of AIH on pregnant women and fetus
- Cirrhosis
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 75 years old?
Where in United States
- Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalCambridge, United StatesContact: Randy D Trumbower, PT, PhDTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Accumulating evidence suggests that repeatedly breathing low oxygen levels for brief periods (termed intermittent hypoxia) is a safe and effective treatment strategy to promote meaningful functional recovery in persons with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). The goal of the study is to understand the mechanisms by which intermittent hypoxia enhances motor function and spinal plasticity (ability of the nervous system to strengthen neural pathways based on new experiences) following SCI.
The 2 groups in the trial
- AIH/WalkExisting treatment, for comparison
Subjects with chronic, motor-incomplete SCI receive acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) with walking practice, then AIH with strength practice and compare their efficacy on enhancing strength and/or walking performance.
Treatment: AIH and Walk
- AIH/StrengthExisting treatment, for comparison
Subjects with chronic, motor-incomplete SCI receive AIH with strength practice, then AIH with walking practice and compare their efficacy on enhancing strength and/or walking performance.
Treatment: AIH and Strength
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Mechanisms of Intermittent Hypoxia-induced Motor Recovery in Persons With SCI
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT02323945, who can take part
- Record updated
- 20 March 2026