Locomotor Training

Locomotor Training is a rehabilitation strategy developed by Susan J. Harkema, Ph.D., that allows individuals with certain kinds of spinal cord injuries to repetitively practice standing and stepping using body weight support and a treadmill with manual facilitation from therapists and technicians. The ultimate goal is to re-train patients with spinal cord injuries to stand and walk again.

In a Locomotor Training session, the body of a paralyzed patient is suspended in a harness over a treadmill while specially trained therapists and technicians move his/her legs to simulate walking.

Locomotor Training has three components:

1. Step Training utilizes body weight support and the treadmill system in combination with manual assistance provided by specially trained physical therapists to promote walking at a normal walking speed. Training principles are utilized in this component to help the nervous system relearn motor patterns associated with walking.
2. Overground Walking Training takes the nervous system’s new capacity to the overground environment. In this setting, specific limitations to independent walking including gait deviations are addressed.
3. Community Ambulation Training implements principles that will help patients meet the overall goal of the program: safe and effective ambulation in the home and community.

In addition to improving mobility in certain patients, Locomotor Training has been shown to enhance the overall health of patients. Potential benefits include improving cardiovascular and pulmonary functioning, promoting the strength and healing potential of skin, increasing blood flow to the upper and lower extremities, increasing bone density, and improving bowel and bladder functioning. Improvements in emotional and psychological well-being have also been noted.

For more information on programs that offer Locomotor Training, click on the following links:

• NeuroRecovery Network
• Outpatient Therapy
• Inpatient (Acute Rehab) Program
• Community Fitness & Wellness Program
• Research related to activity-based therapy

Additional Information

• Spinal Cord Medicine Clinics
• Spinal Cord Medicine Education
• Adaptive Sports Program
• Spinal Cord Medicine Related Links
• Virtual Tour