"About 59 per cent of all spinal injuries are incomplete, leaving pathways that could allow the spinal cord to change in a way that allows people to walk again," said study author Randy D Trumbower, with Emory University in Atlanta.
"Unfortunately, usually a person affected by this type of spinal injury seldom recovers the ability to walk normally. Our research proposes a promising new way for the spinal cord to make the connections needed to walk better," Trumbower said.
The research involved 19 people with spine injuries between levels C2 and T12, no joint shortening, some controlled ankle, knee, and hip movements, and the ability to walk at least one step without human assistance.
The participants breathed through a mask for about 40 minutes a day for five days, receiving 90-second periods of low oxygen levels followed by 60 seconds of normal oxygen levels.
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The participants' walking speed and endurance was tested before the study started, on the first and fifth days of treatment, and again one and two weeks after the treatment ended.
The participants were divided into two groups. In one, nine people received either the treatment or a sham treatment where they received only normal oxygen levels. Then two weeks later they received the other treatment.
Those who received just the hypoxia treatment increased their walking speed on a test of walking 10 metres, walking an average of 3.8 seconds faster than when they did not receive the treatment.
Those who had the treatment plus walking increased their endurance on a test of how far they could walk in six minutes by an average of 100 metres, which was more than a 250-per cent increase compared to those who had the sham treatment plus walking.
The research is published in the journal Neurology.