Antigravity treadmill training during the early rehabilitation phase following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: A case series

Abstract

Patients who have undergone unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) have been reported to exhibit altered gait 19-25 months post-surgery. The most common gait impairment in this population is inadequate knee flexion and a corresponding decrease in the knee extensor moment during loading response (i.e., quadriceps avoidance). The purpose of this case series was to determine whether incorporation of antigravity treadmill training into a standard physical therapy program can eliminate quadriceps avoidance gait during the early rehabilitation phase following UKA. Four females who underwent UKA were recruited for this study. Participants completed antigravity treadmill training three times per week for 12 weeks in addition to their standard physical therapy program. Instrumented gait analysis was performed at baseline (pre-intervention), week 6 (mid-intervention), and week 12 (post-intervention). We found that peak knee flexion and the peak knee extensor moment during the weight acceptance phase of gait increased to normal values following the 12-week intervention period (14.1 ± 6.5° to 20.6 ± 1.5° and 0.4 ± 0.3 to 0.7 ± 0.2 Nm/kg respectively). The findings of this case series suggest that a standard physical therapy program that incorporates early gait training using an antigravity treadmill may be beneficial in eliminating "quadriceps avoidance" during the early rehabilitation phase following UKA.

Rehabilitation of neuromyelitis optica

“…The user wears a special pair of shorts that zip at the waist into a pressurized airtight enclosure, which is suspended over the treadmill surface. [19] Although the LBPP is an effective and safe method to improve functional ability in very weak patients with musculoskeletal and some neurological diseases, [20–23] there are no studies showing its effectiveness in patients with NMO. By controlling the pressure in the enclosure, between 20% and 100% of the patient's body weight can be unloaded, in precise 1% increments for low-impact, pain-free movement.…”

The Effect of Simultaneous Antigravity Treadmill Training and Electrical Muscle Stimulation After Total Hip Arthroplasty: Short Follow-Up Time

“…Indeed, the study of Patil et al [9] reported that the force applied to the knee on the anti-gravity treadmill decreased in patients after a total knee replacement surgery according to the amount of the noted lower extremity relief. Therefore, on an anti-gravity treadmill, walking and endurance training can be performed without exacerbation of pain by adjusting the load on the operated limb, as is the case even in patients early after joint replacement surgery [10,11]. The greatest feature of the anti-gravity treadmill is the breadth of adaptation even for those who have difficulty using an ordinary treadmill, and effects such as increased endurance, muscle strength, and ambulation ability are expected as a result using this method of rehabilitation [12,13].…”