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Effective whole-body training in a physical therapy clinic

Jens Kleine - Physiotherapist and Product Specialist
Jens Kleine - Physiotherapist and Product Specialist
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Effective whole-body training in clinic

Innowalk Pro from Made for Movement enables effective whole-body movement training in therapy clinics. This has many advantages for both the patients and the facility itself. It can offer your patients with neurological impairments the best possible rehabilitation therapy whilst also reducing the physical demand and manual handling load for your therapists.

Effective whole-body training in a physical therapy clinic

Innowalk Pro from Made for Movement enables effective whole-body movement training in therapy clinics. This has many advantages for both the patients and the facility itself. It can offer your patients with neurological impairments the best possible rehabilitation therapy whilst also reducing the physical demand and manual handling load for your therapists.

The Neuro-Robotics Zentrum in Munich opened in February 2020 in Unterschlossheim and provides patients with physiotherapy and occupational therapy rehabilitation. Physiotherapist and owner, Sabri Maraqa, has been working in the health sector and has been involved in various forms of therapy for more than 30 years. All their innovative and robotic devices, such as the Innowalk Pro, were newly purchased when this clinic opened its doors last year. 

We spoke to Nicole Müller who has been working as an occupational therapist in the Neuro-Robotics-Zentrum since the beginning. In this interview she shares her personal experiences and the enthusiasm of the patients exercising with this new full-body movement trainer called the Innowalk Pro. 

Nicole, what therapy areas do you cover in the clinic?

"We cover a lot of neurology areas. All our patients have either a neurological or an orthopaedic disorder, usually severe, with multiple disabilities. We offer multidisciplinary care with both physiotherapy and occupational therapy as part of their rehabilitation. Usually, we do not have acute cases, however, most of our patients are in the sub-acute or chronic phase."

What do your patients wish to achieve? 

Nicole knows the wishes and goals of the patients very well: Clearly, regaining independence: They will tell me I want to be able to walk again or at least be able to cope with everyday life on my own. For example, mastering a transfer or walking to the toilet is the priority goals our patients set themselves". 

How often do patients come to the clinic?

"Usually, they come two or three times a week. This is also important, especially in neurology, because the frequency of training is a decisive factor for success. The more often, the better," Nicole explains. "A training session usually lasts one hour – two treatment sessions of 30 minutes each. We are able to be time efficient and effective with the patients therapy time because there are fewer transfers - resulting in better therapeutic outcomes." 

Which devices do you use in the clinic?

“Here, in this clinic, we use several different robotic therapy devices and balance trainers to support us in therapy with our patients," explains Nicole.

Why did you choose the Innowalk Pro as one of them? 

"It is important for our team to be able to offer the best possible rehabilitation therapies to all patients with neurological impairments. These therapies are usually associated with a high workforce load and demanding physical, and manual handling needs. As a result, the days can be incredibly stressful. That’s why we’ve added this new, robotic full-body movement trainer to our equipment pool. It demonstrates to be able to offer great rehabilitation to our patients and significantly reduce the manual handling demands for the therapists because it is easy to handle. The experience of the team and the enthusiasm of the patients reassures us every day about our decision," explains Nicole, nodding in agreement. 

What makes the Innowalk Pro so unique for patients and therapists? 

"The Innowalk Pro is suitable for almost every patient and can be used even for the most severely affected patients. Moving patients from a wheelchair to the Innowalk Pro is easy – and much less physically demanding for the therapist than with other devices. The wonderful thing is that the patient does a full-body workout while standing – even if they are not yet able to stand on their own and without supervision," enthuses Nicole. Arms, legs, and torso are trained to remain upright. "This has a positive impact on both the brain and mental well-being, because then the patient is on par with the others," she adds. 

What do patients say?

"There are two groups," Nicole smiles. "Some people say immediately, ‘Wow – what a mega-cool equipment’; and are happy and can’t wait to train on this new device. Those patients appear to be more motivated and keep up with the therapy for much longer. The other group is super skeptical and considers the Innowalk Pro to be another elliptical cross trainer. However, if I can convince them to try it and they train three or four times on the Innowalk Pro, with subsequent training on a treadmill is when the big and positive surprise occurs. Those patients that were initially skeptics are incredibly happy that their condition has improved noticeably, also sharing the same ‘Wow effect’ as the other group.  Nicole laughs. 

Effective whole-body training in a physical therapy clinic

Does the Innowalk Pro have any other advantages?  

"Yes, it takes super less space – it is narrow and compact and easy to use. Due to the short set-up time, the training can start very quickly. The first time, it clearly takes a little longer for the device to be set to the patient, but after that it takes no more than three to five minutes and the patient is ready for training," says Nicole. 

What are the key benefits of the Innowalk Pro for a therapist?  

"As already mentioned, the daily therapy can be strenuous and exhausting. For me as a therapist, the advantages are therefore, the ease of use and the physical relief. The work becomes easier with robotic therapy devices. That makes everyone happy," says Nicole. For the Neuro-Robotics-Zentrum in Munich, it has also become easier to attract new therapists as employees and also to retain existing employees, because with the Innowalk Pro the therapy can be carried out more effectively in many ways and importantly better results can be achieved. That is motivating!  

Nicole finally tells us that the Innowalk Pro is a real asset for the treatment of patients with neurological impairments, and summarizes once again the key advantages according to her: 

  • Whole-body training with individually tailored intensity.
  • Efficient use of therapy duration due to easy usability and thus short set-up times.
  • Due to the compact design, it requires little space.
  • The therapy in the Innowalk Pro has a very motivating effect on the patients and is therefore very well accepted with training sessions lasting longer than expected or planned.  
  • Manual relief for therapists, as the whole-body movement trainer, Innowalk Pro reduces physically and manually demanding therapeutic activities. 

Would you like to learn more about the use of the Innowalk Pro in therapeutic facilities? Then please fill out this form to get in contact with us.

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Jens Kleine - Physiotherapist and Product Specialist
Jens Kleine - Physiotherapist and Product Specialist

Jens Kleine is a physiotherapist with many years of sales experience within assistive device technology across several European countries. He is very focused on users’ needs and dedicated in finding innovative solutions. Today, Jens has a product manager role working closely with both external clinicians, the salesforce and our R&D team. Always searching for solutions that bring movement to the people that need it most.

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