Gait Training With antiGRAVIty TREadmill 'Alter-G', in Patients With ParkinSON Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized mainly by motor symptoms, in particular rigidity, akinesia, tremor, which are associated with postural reflex deficits, impaired balance and gait deficit, evident in particular in the onset phase and during the first years of the disease, which are associated in a more advanced stage cognitive and behavioral disorders, with consequent significant limitation and impairment not only of functional independence but also of social and community life. Although drug treatment has significantly modified the natural course of the disease, the gait and balance deficits worsen over time, leading progressively to higher levels of disability. In particular, postural instability leads to the appearance of accidental falls due: to the sudden loss of balance which is associated with the impossibility of implementing the right compensatory parachute reflexes; This can lead to serious consequences in these patients, in particular musculoskeletal trauma, including fractures of the femur, which can compromise not only the quoad valetudinem but also the quoad vitam. In addition, progressive alterations of the gait lead to the phenomenon of freezing or freezing (FOG), in itself the cause of frequent falls. Physiotherapy in PD, including cueing techniques, treadmill training, and cognitive movement strategies, has been shown to improve balance and gait in PD patients. When we talk about subjects affected by PD, with an average age generally over 65 years, we refer to a slice of the population defined as elderly. In the elderly patient all the physical and psychological problems inherent in the disease, starting with the pain phenomenon, acquire a particular significance in relation to the reduced performance status linked to age and other comorbidities, where chronic-degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis play a role of significant impact. Often the painful symptomatology is an obstacle to intensive rehabilitation treatment.

The study conducted by José Fidel Baizabal-Carvallo (10-2020) showed that a training program that includes relatively low workloads provided benefits in different aspects of the Freezing of Gait and greater mobility, with a lower incidence of falls and consequently of musculo-articular damaging events.

The Alter-G M320 anti-gravity treadmill, developed at NASA, allows a lifting force to be applied evenly and comfortably to the patient's body. Lightening the body up to 80% of the weight, thanks to the pressure variation inside the air envelope, Alter-G allows patients or athletes to walk and run respecting motor patterns without compromising the biomechanics of eccentric movement. This tool allows movement to elderly patients, the recovery of motor efficiency following surgery, learn to walk with joint or limb prostheses, carry out a real recovery in the neurological field, rehabilitate patients with injuries to the lower limbs, achieve effective aerobic conditioning, carry out specific conditioning programs. Through precise air pressure control (DAP - Differential Air Pressure) allows to improve aerobic conditioning activities without increasing the risk of stress injury. In addition, compared to traditional rehabilitation in the pool, AlterG allows maximum precision in the alleviation of discharge, being able to vary the load by one percentage point at a time.

More specifically, this technology allows:

• Recover stress fractures on bone structures subject to functional overload.
• Orthopedic rehabilitation before and after surgery
• Neurological rehabilitation for the recovery of gait control in patients affected by STROKE or comatose states as a result of severe brain injuries, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis.
• Facilitate functional recovery of joints in patients undergoing reconstructive surgery in the lower limbs.
• Strengthening training of elderly patients
• Amateur and competitive sports preparation.
• Lose weight without damaging joints.