SCI Participant Statements

Walking in Incomplete Paraplegia

Don, a paraplegic since an Army accident in 1983, rests his hands on the rubber top of a walker and stands out of his wheelchair. With only light pressure to maintain his balance, he walks across the motion study lab in the FES Center at the Cleveland VA Medical Center.

Don is able to accomplish this feat through functional electrical stimulation (FES): The application of electrical currents to generate or suppress activity in the nervous system. For individuals with paralysis, FES can produce and control the movement necessary to stand or grasp. In Don's case, FES stimulates the muscles needed to stand and walk.

The FES technology is bringing hope to patients. "I can't control my legs," Don said. "But when I can control the contraction in the muscle, I think my legs aren't dead. The program gives me a sense that my legs are still working-and gives me hope that they can be healed one day, and I will be able to walk again."