Stimulating Postural Control to Augment Rehabilitation After Cerebral Stroke (SPARC): a Pilot Trial
Recruiting now · Not applicable · Has a placebo group
Conditions studied: Stroke
In brief
People living with stroke have a high risk of falling and this risk increases as mobility improves over the first year post-stroke. Despite the high number of falls, there is a lack of interventions to prevent falls after stroke. One possible solution is to alter nerve activity through delivery of a stimulus, such as electrical stimulation. The purpose of this study is to describe and compare clinical, biomechanical and nerve-related outcomes between individuals with stroke who receive RBT with tSCS and those who receive RBT with sham tSCS.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT06987682
- Run by
- University Health Network, Toronto
- People needed
- 16
- Starts
- 2025-05-21
- Expected to finish
- 2027-12-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2026-03-23
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Aged 18 years or greater
- Diagnosed with a middle cerebral artery stroke >1 year ago
- Community-dwelling (i.e. not living in long-term care or other inpatient setting)
- Able to stand independently for 60 seconds
- Able to understand spoken English
You may not qualify if…
- Any condition other than stroke that significantly affects their postural control (e.g. vestibular disorder, vision loss)
- A prior lower extremity fragility fracture
- A planned injection of botulinum toxin to the legs during the intervention period
- Peripheral nerve damage in the legs
- Contraindications for electrical stimulation (i.e. implanted electronic device, active cancer or radiation in past six months, uncontrolled epilepsy, skin rash/wound at an electrode site, pregnancy, active deep vein thrombosis)
- Contraindications for TMS (i.e. seizures, metal in the head)
- Previous participation in tSCS within the past 2 years (May affect blinding integrity. Likely uncommon; FES is rarely used in Canada post-stroke.)
Where it is running
- KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network — Toronto, Ontario, Canada (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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