As a physiotherapist who has been working with the paediatric population for over 27 years, I was very excited and intrigued by this new technology. I discovered Trexo a few years ago when it was in its infancy and have followed the continuing changes that have been made to improve the design. My clinic was fortunate enough to host a Trexo open house and we have children using it at home. There are no formal studies on this device, however we have seen some positive clinical changes.
Our clinical findings when using the Trexo are as follows:
- Functional stretching within safe and comfortable limits
- Movement in space that stimulates the vestibular system
- Repetition of correct gait pattern
- Alignment correction
- Rhythm and speed training
Trexo can be used for children who are walking and for those who are not. For those children who are walkers, we saw immediate changes in their gait patterns such as, greater stride length, better alignment in space and overall more rhythmical gait pattern.
See Iris’ progress with the Trexo in just 5 months here.
Many studies have been performed on the Lokomat (a robotic treadmill device), similar to Trexo, which have shown positive outcomes in gait, when used. Schroeder et al. (2014) conducted a prospective controlled cohort study that showed significant and clinically meaningful improvements of function in ICF domains of “activity” and “participation” in patients with bilateral spastic Cerebral Palsy.
Trexo will most likely have similar positive effects, however it has the added advantage of movement in space, which according to Tara Losquardo Liddle in her book “Why Motor Skills matter” and Carla Hannaford in her book “Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not all in your
Head”, is important for motor development and changes in the brain.
The physiotherapists at SMILE Therapy For Kids, highly recommend Trexo for children with gait pattern abnormalities.
Jo-Anne Weltman
Physiotherapist
Owner – SMILE Therapy For Kids
References:
- Schroeder A.S., Homburg M., Warken B., Auffermann H., Koerte I., Berweck S., John K., Heiden F., Borggraefe I., (2014) Prospective controlled cohort study to evaluate changes of function, activity and participation in patients with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy after Robotenhanced repetitive treadmill therapy. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpn.2014.04.012
- Losquardo Liddle T., (2018) Why motor skills matter. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Koehlerbooks
- Hannaford C., (2005) Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not all in you Head. Salt Lake City, UT: Great River Books
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