Paraplegic locomotion: a review

authorities' reports 95% of soldiers of the Balkan war who sustained SCI died within a few weeks of sustaining the injury. 2 During the First World War almost 80% of all American soldiers who sustained SCI died before they could be returned home. 3 Almost 20 years after the end of the First World War, Hinman 4 reported that the commonest causes of deaths among patients with SCI were urinary tract infections and bed sores. Failure to prevent or control these complications accounted for over 80% of deaths. Only since the Second World War has the management of such patients improved, due to better methods of evacuation and transportati on, advances in surgical techniques and the availability of antimicrobial therapy. A catastrophe in one's life of such a magnitude as sudden transection or severe injury to the spinal cord inevitably has grave psycho-physical effects on one . The sudden conversion of a vigorously active person into a helpless physical entity leads to severe psychological shock. In this state of shock the paraplegic person is incapable of realizing the complete extent of his disability . This is followed by an early stage of shallow awareness of the disability. At first they are mainly concerned with the paralysis of their legs and questions such as 'Will I ever walk again? are common. However, as time progresses and the gravity of their situation sinks in, other problems, physical as well as those concerning activities of daily living, including walking becomes less important. Nevertheless, in lay person's eyes, inability to walk is the major disability a paraplegic person has and he/she experiences immense social pressures to attain an upright posture and walk again. Of late there has been an upsurge in the interest and new developments have occurred in the field of orthotics for paraplegic locomotion.