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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2013 Apr;1279(1):154–163. doi: 10.1111/nyas.12052

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Exercise devices used for spinal cord injured rats. (A) A motorized exercise wheel (Lafayette Instruments, Lafayette, IN) is useful for rats that have a unilateral injury so that they can maintain a slow walking speed using 3 limbs initially, until the impaired limb regains some measure of function. Changes in speed and duration of exercise are routinely implemented to encourage rats to perform at a higher level. (B) Motorized cycles (custom-made) for spinalized rats provide rhythmic sensory input to the lumbar spinal cord as they move the hind limbs through a complete range of motion. As little as 15 minutes of cycling per day is sufficient to increase intraspinal neurotrophic factor levels. (C) Step training of spinalized rats on a motorized treadmill provides loading of hind limb muscles which does not occur with cycling. Similar to treadmill training of cats (see Rossignol and Martinez, this issue), spinalized rats require assistance with balance and perineal stimulation to initiate locomotion.