Walking
Results of the 10MWT already point out that RAGT was
not superior compared to strength training. Especially
the changes in scores of the 10MWT at maximal speed
were better after strength training compared to RAGT.
One the one hand, this was unexpected as the walking
speed in the Lokomat at the end of the intervention
exceeded over-ground walking speed in the 10MWT at
maximal speed in 6 of 9 subjects, meaning that we
specifically trained fast walking. However, Field-Fote
et al. already reported that treadmill speed in RAGT
does not seem to be an essential factor for locomotor
outcomes in subjects with iSCI [20]. On the other hand,
Kim et al. showed that muscle strength correlates with
walking speed [12]. Since leg muscle strength improved
after strength training (Table 2) this might have led to
higher walking speeds. Also, preferred walking speed did
not change significantly after RAGT, which is in line
with results of studies published earlier [20,29]. However,
the main difference to these studies is that, due to
the new Lokomat control strategies applied in this study,
participants had to contribute actively, thus eliminating
passiveness as a reason for the performance of RAGT.
Yet, there are also studies where RAGT led to improvements
of preferred walking speed [47,48].