Can rhythmic beats help people with spinal cord injury walk better?
NCT ID NCT07674927
First seen Jun 30, 2026 · Last updated Jul 01, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tests a wearable device called MedRhythms that uses shoe sensors and headphones to deliver real-time rhythmic cues (like a musical beat) to help people with incomplete spinal cord injury improve their walking. Fifteen participants will use the device during supervised physical therapy sessions twice a week for six weeks. Researchers will measure changes in walking speed, endurance, and patient-reported outcomes at the start, after treatment, and at a 12-week follow-up.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- rhythmic auditory stimulation device (MedRhythms)
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this approach could offer a simple, drug-free way to improve walking ability during physical therapy for people with incomplete spinal cord injury.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 15 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The device is meant to assist therapy, not replace it, and benefits may be modest.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 15 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jun 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥18 years old * Language: English or Spanish only * Diagnosis: non-progressive spinal cord lesion; classification as either grade C, D, or E SCI based on American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) * Able to ambulate at least a contact guard assist level * Time post injury: ≥6 months * Cadence: minimum 40 steps/minute with clear heel strike * Able to consent Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals who use an assistive device and are unable to achieve a 2-point walking pattern (left-right-left-right) with an assistive device * Walks exclusively with a 3-point walking pattern with an assistive device * Ambulation requiring a knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) * Presence of additional neurological or medical processes that contribute to weakness * Unable to perceive music through the MedRhythyms device
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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UC Davis Point West
RECRUITINGSacramento, California, 95817, United States
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