Abstract
Background/Objective: To examine acute metabolic responses to treadmill locomotion in a participant with motor-complete tetraplegia.
Methods: The participant-a woman with a chronic ASIA B C3-C4 spinal cor injury-walked on a treadmill with 40% body weight support (BWS) and robotic assistance. Oxygen consumption (VO
2
), minute ventilation (V
E
),and heart rate (HR) were measured during seated resting, supported standing, and 40 minutes of walking with stepping assistance from a Lokomat-driven gait orthosis.
Results: A resting VO
2
equal to 50 milliliters perminutewas predictably low, and did not change after the participant assumed an upright posture. Both VO
2
and V2
E
increased immediately upon onset of locomotion, suggesting a neuragenie rather than a humoral regulatory response to movement. VO
2
averaged 2.4 metabolic units (METS) during locomotion at an average expenditure of 2.98 kilocalories per minute. HR was unaltered by standing, but du ring locomotion averaged 1 7 beats higherthan du ring resting.lncreases in V E but not vo2 upon standing, and decreases in vo2 but not V E immediately after walking, rule out changes in V2
E
alone as the source for increased vo2 du ring walking.
Conclusion: The data collected on this single participant show that treadmilllocomotion with BWS and robotic assistance elicits a metabolic response to treadmill gaiting characterized by increased VO
2
, V
E
HR, and caloric expenditure
