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Tests an eccentric ankle strengthening program in people with spinal cord injury or stroke

Tests an eccentric ankle muscle strengthening program in adults with spinal cord injury or stroke.

Key facts

Who runs it
Nantes University Hospital
Where
Nantes, FranceSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
Effects of an Eccentric Muscle Strengthening Protocol on Force Moment, Muscle Activation and Plantar Flexor Structure of Patients With Central Nervous System Injuries.
Status
Not yet recruiting
People taking part
90 people, planned
Started
Sept 2024
Expected to end
Oct 2027
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • muscle-strengthening program
Record updated
16 August 2024

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults aged 18 to 80 who had a stroke or an incomplete spinal cord injury less than 6 months ago and are in hospital for rehabilitation.

Age
18 to 80 years
Sex
All sexes can join.
Disease stage
Stroke less than 6 months ago, or spinal cord injury (ASIA Impairment Scale C or D, incomplete motor impairment) less than 6 months ago. Voluntary movement rated 2 to 4 on the MRC scale.
Earlier treatment
No functional surgery in the last 3 months and no injection into the calf muscles (plantar flexors) in the last 6 months. Must be in hospital for primary rehabilitation at Nantes University Hospital.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Bone or joint problems that make rehabilitation unsafe
  • Severe cognitive impairment or unlikely to follow the protocol
  • Progressive illness that makes effort unsafe (for example syrinx, cancer, unstable heart or blood vessels)
  • Minors, protected adults, or adults unable to give consent
  • Pregnant women

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 9 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Patient aged between 18 and 80 years
  • Patient with stroke< 6 months or Patient with spinal cord injury American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale C or D (incomplete motor impairment) < 6 months (second secondary criterion)
  • Patient hospitalized for primary rehabilitation in the neurological PRM department of Nantes University Hospital
  • Patient with voluntary motricity rated between 2 and 4 on the MRC (Medical Research Council) scale

Who cannot take part

  • History of functional surgery <3 months or intramuscular injection into plantar flexors <6 months
  • Patient unlikely to adhere to protocol (severe cognitive impairment) and/or non-compliant
  • Patient with a progressive pathology contraindicating efforts (syrinx, cancer, cardiovascular instability, etc.)
  • Patient with osteoarticular lesions contraindicating rehabilitation
  • Minors, protected adults, adults unable to give consent or pregnant women

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 80 years old?

Where in France

  • CHU de NantesNantes, FranceContact: Raphael GROSSNo longer taking part

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

Neurological disorders [such as Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) or Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)] are among the most costly health problems to society in industrialized countries. For those affected, they generate severe restrictions in mobility, significantly altering their quality of life.

Read full original descriptionShow less

Deterioration in motor function after stroke or BM is closely linked to the level of force produced at joint level. This is influenced by adaptations (neurological and tissue) inherent to the pathophysiology of the injury, and characterized by the presence of a spastic paresis syndrome.

A great deal of effort is devoted to motor neurorehabilitation (particularly physiotherapy) in the days and weeks following neurological injury. This so-called sub-acute rehabilitation phase is designed to have a positive impact on the patient's motor recovery (to prevent the development of spastic paresis), and to prevent future severe limitations in the long term.

Disorders observed in the chronic phase (partial recovery of strength, severe orthopedic deformities) demonstrate the limits of current therapies. In view of the results obtained in healthy subjects, eccentric training now seems to be one of the most promising physiotherapy methods for recovering muscle strength and countering neurological disorders.

However, its use in the sub-acute rehabilitation phase has never been evaluated in post-stroke or post-BM patients, either in terms of its effects on the strength developed in the strengthened muscles, or more locally on the neurological and tissue disorders found in these patients in the context of spastic paresis.

The aim of this project is to evaluate the effects of an eccentric muscle-strengthening exercise protocol on neurological patients in the sub-acute phase of their neurological impairment. The protocol will be applied to the ankle joint, given its importance for walking and the significant deficits found at this level in neurological populations.We hypothesize that the strengthening protocol will improve muscle strength at the ankle, and generate beneficial adaptations to combat the spastic paresis syndrome (improved muscle activation, increased muscle length, muscle volume, etc.).

The 2 groups in the trial

  • Experimental " EXC "Treatment being tested

    eccentric strengthening + conventional rehabilitation

    Treatment: muscle-strengthening program

  • Comparator " CONC "Existing treatment, for comparison

    concentric strengthening + conventional rehabilitation

    Treatment: muscle-strengthening program

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Effects of an Eccentric Muscle Strengthening Protocol on Force Moment, Muscle Activation and Plantar Flexor Structure in Patients With Central Nervous System Injuries. A Randomized Controlled Trial in Post-stroke Patients and a Pilot Study in Spinal Cord Injured Patients.
Plain-language title
Tests an eccentric ankle strengthening program in people with spinal cord injury or strokeGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Fit questions
Built from NCT06099340, who can take part
Record updated
16 August 2024