The objective of this study is to investigate the use of scTS combined with ABT in inpatient rehabilitation, to facilitate UE functional recovery for individuals with acute to subacute cervical SCI. The investigators will assess the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of the combined intervention with a 10-day regimen in a randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial. The investigators hypothesize that the combination of scTS+ABT applied in individuals with acute to subacute cervical SCI will 1) be both safe and feasible when implemented as a part of the medical care in an inpatient SCI rehabilitation program, and 2) promote greater improvements in UE function compared to sham control and ABT alone. In addition, the investigators will explore the potential neurophysiological mechanism underlying the combined intervention by evaluating the pre-post changes of cortical and spinal excitability. The investigators anticipate that the functional outcome improvements will be associated with the gains of cortical and spinal excitability.
(Aim 1) To determine whether scTS+ABT intervention is safe when applied to persons with acute to subacute cervical SCI during inpatient rehabilitation. The investigators will evaluate the intervention safety based on the adverse event reports focusing three categories: (1) scTS-related (pain/discomfort and skin integrity), (2) ABT-related (musculoskeletal injuries, heart rate, and oxygen saturation levels), and (3) SCI-related (spasticity and autonomic dysreflexia). The type, frequency, and severity of adverse events reported in scTS+ABT group will be compared to those from ABT alone group. (Aim 2) To examine whether a 10-day regimen of scTS+ABT is feasible to apply to individuals with acute to subacute SCI during an inpatient rehabilitation program. The interest and willingness of participants to enroll and complete this study will provide insight into the feasibility of scTS+ABT intervention. The investigators will assess the feasibility based on quantitative data including ease of recruitment (accrual rate) and study completion rate and compare the study completion rate in scTS+ABT and ABT alone group. (Aim 3) To evaluate the efficacy of scTS+ABT intervention in promoting UE functional recovery in acute to subacute SCI, as compared to the sham control and ABT only. Given the greatest opportunity for recovery and neuroplasticity in acute-subacute SCI stage and the promising results demonstrated in the previous chronic SCI studies, the investigators expect that applying scTS+ABT at early stages would lead to greater UE function improvements compared to scTSsham+ABT and ABT only. UE motor impairment, voluntary handgrip strength, and UE functional ability will be quantitatively assessed three time at baseline, once at the end of intervention, and once at 1-, 2-, 3-month follow up. Within-group and between-group comparison will be made to evaluate the efficacy of different interventions. (Aim 4, Exploratory) To quantify and characterize the neurophysiological changes after scTS+ABT, as compared to the sham control or ABT alone. Previous chronic studies have suggested that scTS can increase the excitability of spinal network and activate the motor neurons within spinal cord distal to the lesion, leading to restoration of voluntary motor control. Here, the investigators will examine whether a 10-day regimen of scTS+ABT applied in the acute to subacute stage can also lead to neurophysiological gains. Pre-post changes in the cortical and spinal excitability will be measured and compared to the sham control and ABT only group. As an exploratory aim, the investigators will evaluated on a subset sample of each group (n=4).
