The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, which funds research, education and quality of life programs aimed at improving the lives of those with spinal cord injuries, recently awarded a $70,000 grant to MossRehab’s Spinal Cord Locomotor Training Program. The grant recognizes MossRehab’s commitment to comprehensive spinal cord care that utilizes technology specifically designed to complement activity-based spinal cord injury therapy.

"We are honored to receive this grant, which will allow us to obtain an additional robotic device and enhance our ability to deliver care as well as collect data on the effectiveness of technology in rehabilitation," says Alberto Esquenazi, MD, the John Otto Haas Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at MossRehab. 

MossRehab is a national and world leader in clinical innovations using advanced rehabilitation technologies. Our collection of 18 robotic devices to help assess and treat neurological deficits is the largest by far in the U.S., giving patients a wealth of highly individualized treatment options not available elsewhere.

We established the Spinal Cord Locomotor Training Program in February 2016 to bring together a variety of therapeutic treatment modalities, including complex rehabilitation technologies, bodyweight support treadmill systems and bracing to improve mobility. The technologies involved include:

• SafeGait™: MossRehab was the first rehabilitation facility in Pennsylvania to offer this dynamic weight support system used for balance and gait training.
• Lokomat®: MossRehab was the first rehab facility in the Philadelphia region to offer this treadmill-like device, which helps strengthen and train impaired muscle groups to help the body relearn how to walk. We are one of the few sites in the world to offer three Lokomats in one location.
• G-EO System™: MossRehab was the first rehab facility in the U.S. to utilize the latest G-EO System, a robotic walker training system that helps patients with a variety of physical disabilities and injuries regain strength and movement to improve walking.
• Andago®: MossRehab was the first rehabilitation facility in the U.S. to pilot therapy using an Andago, a Swiss-manufactured robotic device that helps patients with stroke or brain injury regain their ability to walk.

Beth Jacobs, RN, CCM, CRRN, a Spinal Cord Injury Nurse Specialist at MossRehab, notes that the Locomotor Training Program is tailored, using therapeutic strategies to ensure that patients always feel safe, while at the same time being challenged to work harder and smarter to achieve their rehabilitation goals.

Learn more about the MossRehab Spinal Cord Locomotor Training Program