Treatment to reduce walking impairments
Today we know how important physical activity is. Verticality greatly helps us to avoid a wide range of health problems, such as wounds, cardio-respiratory and circulatory diseases, etc.
Here is an article about the importance of walking for rehabilitation.
However, in some cases, this seemingly trivial activity can become extremely complex to carry out. The potential causes are multiple: lack of endurance, foot drop, loss of balance, etc. Perhaps you are able to walk properly indoors, but can’t do so outdoors on the lawn or at night?
What are the tools to help us? There are technical walking aids: cane, walking sticks, walker, Canadian crutches… Perhaps you already use them? Sometimes, we need a push to help us better navigate. What tool should we use? And how to use it better. Sometimes we want to wean ourselves off of it (learn how to get rid of it gradually) and move on to something else. There are also orthotics and prosthetics, as well as electrical functional stimulators.
In physiotherapy, our therapists evaluate your gait, its strengths and weaknesses. They are then able to create a treatment plan adapted to your needs: basic advice, tips on the tools to use, but also a rehabilitation plan.
Gait re-education exercises put you in different situations, often facing our greatest difficulties. Unstable situations, obstacles, tight spaces, etc., are often the most difficult. You will be made aware of the different stages of walking, but also of your walking pattern.
For some people with severe orthopedic or neurological conditions, walking becomes practically impossible. With its expertise in rehabilitation and technology, Neuro-Concept can help you find a solution. Despite complete or partial paralysis, certain technological tools make walking possible. The robotic walking assistants such as the GEO Systems and the exoskeleton present at Neuro-Concept are examples. These technologies help maintain good cardio-respiratory health, improve balance, improve walking patterns and maintain good bone density(1, 2).
Regardless of your level of function and ability, our therapists have the tools, the knowledge, the technologies and expertise to help you get closer to your walking goals.
References:
- HOEKSTRA, F., VAN NUNEN, M. P. M. GERRITS, K. H.L. STOLWIJK-SWASTE, J. M. CRINS, M.H. P. JANSSEN, T. W. J. (2013), Effect of robotic gait training on cardiorespiratory system in incomplete spinal cord injury, Journal of rehabilitation research and development, vol, 50, no 10, p.1411-1422
- Bruni, M. F., Melegari, C., De Cola, M. C., Bramanti, A., Bramanti, P., & Calabrò, R. S. (2018). What does best evidence tell us about robotic gait rehabilitation in stroke patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal Of Clinical Neuroscience: Official Journal Of The Neurosurgical Society Of Australasia, 48, 11–17. https://doi-org.ezproxy.usherbrooke.ca/10.1016/j.jocn.2017.10.048