Doctors in the US have electronically implanted 16 electrodes into a paraplegic man to enable him to stand and move his legs. 

This research was published in the Lancet and featured on BBC News on SCI Awareness Day, Friday 20th May, when our Chief Executive, Paul Smith was asked for SIA's views on the research.  Read the SIA statement below:  

"From what I have seen of the video footage and written material, this development appears to be interesting in terms of the possible long-term benefits that people with spinal cord injuries could derive from this work. In its current form there appears to be little practical benefit for the user but this research could lead to other more practical treatments. We should always be mindful when considering any research, such as this, that we do not know what the long-term effects of using this treatment are. This development should not be taken as working towards the repair of the spinal cord itself and there is still a long way to go before this work could be become widely available to the general spinal cord injured population. However, the Spinal Injuries Association welcomes all forms of research and development in the field of spinal cord injury, that could benefit our members and the wider spinal cord injury population. We will monitor developments of this work with great interest."