A rehabilitation product has been developed that supports body weight for people with sports injuries and other needs.
The Ergo Trainer was developed to rehabilitate brain injury patients by removing all fear of falling during exercise. But it also has benefits to physiotherapists as it claims to offer speedier patient rehabilitation and reduced work related injuries among therapists, and fall related injuries among patients.
The system, from mobility company Ergolet, can reduce the amount of weight the patient puts through their joints and muscles by up to 85kg (13st) during training to avoid strain or further injury, giving them the confidence to exercise earlier or more vigorously.
The Ergo Trainer was developed in co-operation with the Centre for Rehabilitation of Brain Injury (CRBI), Copenhagen, and used in patient studies there with dramatic results. CRBI’s neuro rehabilitation specialist Jørgen Jørgensen, said stroke patients facing paralysis improved their walking speed by an average of 65% after a 12 week period.
He said: “Traditionally it is hard to rehabilitate patients with impaired walking abilities because the fear of falling prevents an effective and continuous rehabilitation process. This shows you can remove that fear which will improve overall health and it is now the cornerstone of our intensive gait rehabilitation work”.
“We can intensify physical training and show significantly faster, better recovery through an ergonomically designed device which keeps the user safe and makes work-outs pure fun, and allow full movement of the injured joints,” said UK Sales Director David Lomas.
“Therapists have told us that it transforms the morale of the patient while maintaining cardiovascular health and strength, and often helps them back into sport again.”
Its design offers multiple training possibilities and lets therapists mix up treatment between treadmills (BWSTT), step machines, cross-fit machines, ski machines, exercise bikes or floor work. It enables 360 degree rotation, letting the user train moving forwards, sideways or backwards.
Anti-fall safety devices protect staff too, who often get hurt preventing patients falling. It is designed so patients can focus on doing more challenging exercise without fear and gain confidence while staff can focus on the patient’s work-out performance, step up intensity and personalise programmes.
Therapists can oversee and treat more than one patient at a time, offering health economies. Cost savings are also offered through speedier patient rehabilitation and reduced work related injuries among therapists and fall related injuries among patients.
The system works using a walking harness and takes moments for the patient to start the training programme. The adjustable weight relief system is controlled by a simple hand control.
Click here to see how it works link to a video