Trunk Control in Spinal Cord Injury: From Clinical Assessment to Technological Innovation

Trunk control is fundamental to functional independence after spinal cord injury (SCI) and essential to prevent complications in this population. Yet, despite its importance, trunk control remains under-assessed and under-targeted in rehabilitation worldwide.
This session will first introduce the clinical relevance of trunk control and describe its alterations in SCI (article in revision). We will then compare assessment strategies, ranging from practical clinical tools to advanced instrumented evaluations. Evidence will be presented from the development and validation of the Clinical Trunk Control Test (Spinal Cord, 2014) and its predictive value for gait and independence (Journal of Spinal Cord Injury, 2018, Spinal Cord, 2023). Instrumented assessments (Journal of Spinal Cord Injury, 2021) and emerging smartphone-based evaluations (ongoing research) will be highlighted as examples of technology advancing clinical practice
Next, we will present innovative interventions to improve trunk control, including conventional therapies, technology-assisted training, and novel approaches such as the kayak ergometer (article in revision) and virtual reality (ongoing research) rehabilitation.

Finally, we will demonstrate how this research line has evolved from tool development to technological innovation in practice, serving as a case study in innovation.
The session will conclude with an interactive discussion on global challenges, adaptation across healthcare systems, and strategies to build research-to-practice pipelines.