{"id":3305,"date":"2022-07-30T06:54:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T06:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaitbetter.com\/?p=3305"},"modified":"2025-07-28T09:45:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T09:45:22","slug":"who-can-benefit-from-semi-immersive-gait-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaitbetter.com\/de\/who-can-benefit-from-semi-immersive-gait-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Who can benefit when Virtual Reality is added to Gait Training"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The purpose of gait training is to improve a person’s ability to walk or balance after an injury or illness. It can consist of physical, vestibular, motor, and\/or motor-cognitive exercises and is one of the most common physical therapy treatments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Because walking is so fundamental to physical and mental health, gait training, also known as gait rehabilitation, is performed on a wide range of indications, including post-acute and chronic neurological conditions (stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, etc.), orthopedic indications (total joint replacement, lower limb fractures, amputation, etc.), after medical treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, etc.), and those older adults identified as a fall risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

GaitBetter is a new gait rehabilitation technology using semi-immersive virtual reality that introduces clinical benefits that are sometimes absent from existing treatments. These include simultaneous motor-cognitive training to help accelerate outcomes and gamification that drives deeper engagement and higher adherence rates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In this article, we will examine how the GaitBetter virtual reality motor-cognitive technology improves key parameters that help us walk and move every day with strength and confidence. We will address a number of conditions, backed up by studies and reviews of the GaitBetter system.<\/span><\/p>

What is GaitBetter?<\/b><\/p>

GaitBetter adds semi-immersive virtual reality (VR) to existing treadmills to deliver a personalized motor-cognitive therapy that prevents falls and accelerates more positive outcomes in neuro, ortho, and cardio rehabilitation. With 5 clinical trials completed, 5 more clinical trials in progress, and over peer-reviewed 20 publications to date, there is substantial evidence that Gaitbetter helps improve traditional gait metrics (TUG, 2MWT, etc.), enhance cognitive performance, reduce falls, and increase overall quality of life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

How does GaitBetter work?<\/strong> The trainee walks on the treadmill and sees her two feet in a virtual reality environment projected on a TV screen in front of her. As she walks, she encounters virtual challenges to practice both cognitive and motor skills at the same time. She works on obstacle negotiation and decision making in an environment that is very similar to the real world. And she receives strong and measurable feedback, such as real-time scoring and trends in performance. The gamification is so motivating that patients are typically willing to walk twice as long compared to treadmill training alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Gait training for adults at risk of falling<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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According to the CDC, 36 million falls occur in the USA each year. This is a devastating number and results in falls being the number one cause of injury-related death among those over 65 years of age. A well-known 5-year longitudinal study of older adults showed conclusively that the primary indicator of fall risk is decline in cognitive abilities, specifically executive function (1). When an older adult fears falling while they walk, one potential outcome is their gait speed starts to slow down. This reduction in gait speed is a critical physical performance indicator, because it is a strong predictor of overall health and life expectancy.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Clinical support:\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>