Effect of 6-weeks of Thrice Weekly Training with THERA-Trainer Lyra in Addition to Conventional Inpatient Physical Therapy on Gait in Geriatric Rehabilitation Patients Compared to Physical Therapy Alone: Active-Controlled, Parallel Group, Intervention Trial

Background: The primary goal of geriatric rehabilitation is for the patient to return to his or her pre-hospitalization level of mobility. THERA-Trainer Lyra is an end-effector gait trainer with adjustable body weight support (BWS). Designed to regain walking ability after stroke, this study investigates the use of THERA-Trainer Lyra in geriatric rehabilitation and expects an improvement in gait speed and mobility. Method: 6 FPS patients (≥65 years) that primary had muscle weakness and difficulties walking were included. It’s an active-controlled, parallel group, Intervention trial. The intervention group (n=3) had 3 times a week training on the THERA-Trainer Lyra in addition to conventional therapy. The control group received only conventional therapy, which included mainly physiotherapy. Results: After 4-6 weeks the Intervention group improved the normal gait speed for 10.9 %. The control group showed an improvement of 5.6 % in normal gait speed (not significant). The 6-minutes walking test showed a trend in favor of the Intervention group. Discussion: Deconditioned patients seemed to profit the most. Over all THERA-Trainer Lyra can help to increase the patients' active time in the geriatric rehabilitation. Also at slow speed the gait training shows training effects (exhaustion in the legs). An active gait training on the THERA-Trainer Lyra improves the coordination, balance and strength endurance. Conclusion: Thanks to the BWS on the THERA-Trainer Lyra also patients witch restricted mobility have the possibility to train. BWS and the mechanical gait pattern enable longer trainings and help improving Mobility. Key words: THERA-Trainer Lyra, gait trainer, geriatric rehabilitation, feasibility, BWS