Effective walking and balance require not only lower limb muscle strength but also coordinated movement. For individuals with Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), rehabilitation strategies targeting coordination are essential to improving mobility and reducing the burden on caregivers. However, evidence-based rehabilitation approaches for ataxia remain limited.
Recent studies suggest that improvements in motor learning are often accompanied by changes in cortical excitability. Abnormal cortical excitability in SCA patients may hinder rehabilitation efforts, yet priming strategies-such as exercise or specific stimuli-have been shown to enhance motor learning by modulating cortical excitability. Cycling exercise, in particular, has demonstrated the potential to improve coordination and influence cortical plasticity in individuals with SCA, making it a promising priming strategy for coordination training.
This clinical trial aims to:
1. Investigate the priming effect and neural mechanisms of acute cycling exercise on coordination training in patients with SCA. 2. Explore the long-term impact of priming cycling training on cortical plasticity and functional mobility in individuals with SCA.
This study seeks to provide insights into optimized rehabilitation interventions that could enhance the quality of life and independence for people with SCA.
None
Musculoskeletal injuries on legs
Osteoporosis.
Any peripheral or central nervous system injury or disease patients.
Crossover
Cycling Training
Procedure/SurgeryCycling combined with priming strategies to enhance motor learning tasks. Each session will last for 15 minutes, conducted three times per week, over a period of two weeks.
Overall Response Time
The sum of reaction time and movement time, providing a complete measure of the time taken from the stimulus presentation to the completion of the response. Unit: Second(s)
Overall Error Rate
The total proportion of incorrect responses across a testing session or series of tasks.
Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs)
MEPs are the electrical responses recorded from muscles following stimulation of the motor cortex. They reflect the efficiency of neural transmission from the cortex to the muscle. Unit: millivolts (mV).
Intracortical Facilitation (ICF)
ICF is measured by applying a pair of TMS pulses with a short interval (e.g., 8-15 ms) where the first (subthreshold) pulse is followed by a second (suprathreshold) pulse, leading to an increased amplitude of the MEP.
Gait Speed Measurement Using 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT)
The 10MWT is a performance-based measure used to assess walking speed over a short distance. Participants will be instructed to walk 10 meters at their comfortable and/or fastest walking speed. The time taken to walk the central 6 meters is recorded to eliminate acceleration and deceleration effects, and gait speed is calculated as meters per second (m/s).
Double Support Time
The portion of the gait cycle where both feet are in contact with the ground, indicating the transition phase between steps, expressed as a percentage of the gait cycle or in seconds.
Single Support Time
The duration within the gait cycle when only one foot is in contact with the ground, typically measured in seconds or as a percentage of the total gait cycle.
Swing Time
The portion of the gait cycle where the foot is not in contact with the ground, moving forward to the next step. It is usually expressed as a percentage of the total gait cycle or in seconds.
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