Walking ability following hybrid assistive limb treatment for a patient with chronic myelopathy after surgery for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament

Context: The hybrid assistive limb (HAL) (the wearable robot) can assist kinesis during voluntary control of hip and knee joint motion by detecting the wearer's bioelectric signals on the surface of their skin. The purpose of this study was to report on walking ability following the wearable robot treatment in a patient with chronic myelopathy after surgery for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL).

Findings: The patient was a 66-year-old woman with cervical OPLL who was able to ambulate independently with the aid of bilateral crutches. The wearable robot treatment was received once every 2 weeks for ten sessions beginning approximately 14 years after surgery. Improvements were observed in gait speed (BL 22.5; post 46.7 m/min), step length (BL 0.36; post 0.57 m), and cadence (BL 61.9; post 81.6 m/min) based on a 10-m walk test and a 2-minute walk test (BL 63.4; post 103.7 m) assessing total walking distance. The improvements in walking ability were maintained after the wearable robot treatment for 6 months.

Conclusion: We report the functional recovery in the walking ability of a patient with chronic cervical myelopathy following the wearable robot treatment, suggesting that as a rehabilitation tool, the wearable robot has the potential to effectively improve functional ambulation in chronic cervical myelopathy patients whose walking ability has plateaued, even many years after surgery.