ES - Epidural Stimulation for Spinal Injury

BBH Treatment Program

Epidural Stimulation Program is a customized treatment program plan for individual condition.

The expected benefits of ES are

• Decrease chronic back pain
• Overall sense of improved quality of life.
• Improvement in regulation of temperature.
• Enhancement in sexual function.
• Increase in bladder control.
• Improvement in certain leg movements.

History of Epidural Stimulation for Spinal Cord Injury

Background Knowledge

Historically, complete paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI) was considered irreversible, with no available treatment to restore voluntary motor control. Repetitive training of paralyzed limbs showed no clinical or electrophysiological improvement, leading both patients and clinicians to accept lifelong wheelchair dependence.

Over the past three decades, studies in animal and human models have demonstrated that the mammalian spinal cord can generate locomotor activity independently of brain control. These findings led to the hypothesis that direct electrical stimulation of the lumbosacral spinal cord, combined with task-specific locomotor training, could facilitate standing and stepping in individuals with complete SCI.

A major breakthrough was reported in 2011, when a patient with chronic complete SCI achieved weight-bearing standing and voluntary leg movements following epidural spinal cord stimulation and intensive training. Subsequent reports in 2014 from Europe and the United States confirmed similar outcomes in additional patients, even years after injury.

Beyond motor recovery, patients also experienced improvements in bladder control, sexual function, and overall well-being. These findings suggest that epidural spinal cord stimulation, together with targeted locomotor training, represents a promising strategy to partially restore voluntary motor function in individuals with complete spinal cord injury.