What is Locomotor Training Like at Jefferson?

The Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Spinal Cord Injury Locomotor Training Program offers innovative and comprehensive therapy for patients with spinal cord injuries that incorporates a variety of treatment modalities, including complex rehabilitation technologies, bodyweight support treadmill systems and bracing to improve mobility.

Interested in meeting with one of our specialists to find out more about locomotor therapy? Schedule a tour or request an appointment today.

Our locomotor training bodyweight systems include:

• SafeGait™, a ceiling-mounted bodyweight support system that can offset a patient’s bodyweight up to 50 percent. Software in the system can distinguish between a patient’s intentional stepping down movement and when a patient is falling, allowing therapists and patients to safely work on fall prevention, floor to wheelchair transfers, and advanced wheelchair skills and walking. Innovative software allows therapists to track length of time, distance, number of falls and other parameters, allowing for the creation and monitoring of individualized programs. Jefferson is the first provider in Pennsylvania to offer SafeGait.
 
• Lokomat®, an exoskeleton bodyweight-supported treadmill system, helps patients practice walking. Patients are safely secured in a harness that allows the exoskeleton to move the body in a natural walking pattern. The Lokomat allows a patient to take an increased amount of steps within a defined period of time, which may also lead to improvements in walking. Jefferson was the first facility in the Philadelphia region to offer Lokomat and one of the few facilities in the world to have three Lokomats at one site.
 
• G-EO System™, an advanced robotic bodyweight support system, helps strengthen a patient’s leg muscles to relearn walking, stair climbing and descent. Jefferson was the first in the U.S. to use G-EO System.

The use of these locomotor machines is done in conjunction with overground walking when possible. Specific protocols used for each spinal cord injury patient are based on the individual’s presentation as well as personal goals for their admission. A physician-led interdisciplinary mobility team reviews progress on a weekly basis to each patient’s mobility plan. These resources are used in conjunction with traditional activity-based therapy interventions.

The use of objective outcome measurement tools allows for a seamless transition throughout the continuum of locomotor therapy in spinal cord care. The patient’s progress is tracked throughout their lifetime of care by using the same tools on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Outcomes for all patients in the program are aggregated and evaluated to inform improvements to it.

To learn more about the Jefferson Spinal Cord Injury Program, schedule a tour, or speak with admissions, call 1-800-CALL MOSS.