Research Opportunities

This study focuses on improving your health and wellness after stroke including strengthening your breathing muscles. The purpose of this study is to improve your overall health and wellness by a combined training program for your breathing muscles and an exercise program for your arm, leg muscles and heart muscles on your strength, mobility and quality of life.

 

“How much is enough?” This is a question often asked in stroke rehabilitation and the BRAVE study will compare two different “doses” of a backward walking exercise program. We believe that exercise can change the brain! The BRAVE study will also examine how the brain changes in response to exercise. In addition to the exercise sessions at Brooks, participants will undergo two MRI assessments at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

This study will help us determine whether treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure starting shortly after acute ischemic stroke or high risk TIA (1) reduces recurrent stroke, acute coronary syndrome, and all-cause mortality 6 months after the event, and (2) improves stroke outcomes at 3 months in patients who experienced an ischemic stroke.

 

This study will help researchers understand how Brain Q, a neurotechnology which delivers mild, non-invasive electromagnetic stimulation to the brain and spinal cord, affects and/or improves arm and leg function after stroke when combined with standard therapy exercises.

Respiratory impairments after SCI can often lead to serious illnesses, re-hospitalizations, or even death. This study will determine if a new strategy, acute intermittent hypoxia, breathing brief bouts of lower oxygen, combined with respiratory strength training will promote greater and more sustainable gains in respiratory function than either intervention alone.

Many people have difficulty walking after spinal cord injury. Robotic devices may enhance the delivery of rehabilitation. The purpose of this study is to examine the safety and efficacy of intense walking rehabilitation using adaptive robotics, i.e., the Cyberdyne Hybrid Assistive Limb, in adults with chronic SCI.

Between 40-60% of men have low testosterone after spinal cord injury. The purpose of this study is to determine if walking rehabilitation, i.e., locomotor training and testosterone replacement therapy improve muscle and bone health and walking ability in men who have low testosterone and problems with walking after spinal cord injury.

Stretching is a typical rehabilitation approach to help reduce spasticity and maintain mobility. The purpose of this study is to understand how lower extremity stretching effects motor functions such as leg movements, strength, spasticity, and walking function in adults with SCI.”

Walking rehabilitation (ex. Locomotor training) can help improve a person’s ability to walk after SCI, but often, walking is still difficult. The purpose of this study is to examine if the use of transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) added during locomotor training can assist in achieving greater improvement in walking function.