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Recent studies of robotic rehabilitation have demonstrated its efficacy for neurological disorders. However, few studies have used the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) during the early postoperative stage of spine disorders. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HAL treatment during the early postoperative period for spine disorder patients. We retrospectively identified patients who underwent spine surgery and who could complete HAL treatment. We evaluated the 10-m walking test (10MWT), the modified Gait Abnormality Rating Scale (GARS-M), Barthel Index (BI), and the walking index for spinal cord injury II (WISCI II) score results before and after robotic rehabilitation. Clinical outcomes were compared after treatment. We included nine patients with various spine problems. After HAL treatment, the speed during the 10MWT significantly improved from 64.1 ± 16.0 to 74.8 ± 10.8 m/min, and the walking cadence decreased from 102.7 ± 17.6 to 92.7 ± 10.9 steps/min. The BI score also improved from 83.3 ± 16.0 to 95.6 ± 5.8, and the WISCI II score improved from 19.7 ± 0.5 to 20.0 ± 0.0. Furthermore, the total GARS-M score improved from 6.0 ± 5.7 to 2.3 ± 3.3. The maximum angles of the trunk swing were improved from 2.2 ± 1.9 to 1.2 ± 0.9 degrees. Neurorehabilitation therapy using HAL for spinal surgery patients was considered feasible following spine surgery.

Introduction: Elderly people often exhibit "frailty," and motor dysfunction occurs. Several studies have reported about the relationship between motor dysfunction and frailty in Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to test whether the core exercise using the hybrid assistive limb lumbar type for care support (HAL-CB02) may improve the motor functions in frailty patients with or without PD and to explore the optimal patient selection from the frailty cohort. Materials and Methods: We recruited 16 frailty patients (PD = 8; non-PD = 8). The participants performed core exercise and squats using HAL-CB02 for five sessions a week. Outcome measures were 10-m walking test, step length, timed up-and-go test, 30-s chair stand test, and visual analog scale. Evaluation was conducted at baseline, post-exercise, and 1-and 3-month follow-ups. Results: Both PD and non-PD patients showed significant improvement in all evaluation items post-exercise. Moreover, no significant difference was found in the improvement value between the two groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that biofeedback exercise with HAL-CB02 is a safe and promising treatment for frailty patients. Motor dysfunction in PD patients may be partly due to physical frailty, and biofeedback exercise with HAL-CB02 is proposed as a treatment option.