Researchers at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville immobilised the rear limbs of rats to judge the effect on long-term function. Injured rats strapped to tiny "wheelchairs" that restricted their movements recovered less limb function and coordination than those left to fend for themselves. The inference was that this might mean that people with a spinal cord injury would recover better if they were encouraged to use their limbs sooner after injury and relied less on wheelchairs.

"Our data suggests that wheelchair restriction definitely impairs functional recovery in rats, and logically it would seem to apply also to humans," says the study author David Magnuson, Associate Professor.

There seems to be an optimal time period following spinal cord injury during which the brain is better able to relearn at least some of the functions that are lost.  Missing this "window of opportunity" is thought to reduce the amount of movement an injured person can recover, but no one is sure exactly which components are necessary for successful rehabilitation.