Adaptive Fitness with the C-Mill
For people who have an abnormal gait, walking requires some practice. The C-Mill by Motek is an adaptive fitness tool often used in physical therapy for balance and gait — learn more about the machine at the Stephen A. Orthwein Center and how you can start training.
What is Gait Training?
Sometimes, injury, disability, age, or an underlying medical condition may cause an abnormal gait. In this case, walking patterns could be characterized by heavy footfalls, weaving patterns, shuffling, small steps or stiff movements. An abnormal gait may throw your body off balance, making it difficult to move around without tripping, stumbling or getting dizzy spells.
Gait training in physical therapy is used to strengthen your lower extremities and teach your muscles how to move efficiently. It typically begins with an evaluation from a certified medical professional where they examine strengths, weaknesses, posture, balance and flexibility. Together, these factors determine what muscles need to be targeted in physical therapy for balance and gait.
Over time, adaptive fitness therapies such as strength training and walking benefit users by:
Building confidence
Reducing fatigue
Minimizing care needs
Creating efficient walking patterns
Decreasing the need for walking aids
What is the C-Mill?
The C-Mill by Motek offers support and balance in a safe environment. This equipment is essentially an adapted treadmill that simulates everyday life challenges through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
The C-Mill benefits most seniors and people with disabilities striving to improve their standing balance and walking patterns. Notably, we’ve seen people who have lower extremity amputations, Parkinson’s disease, stroke-related injuries, cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injuries regain independence by using this machine.
How Do I Use It?
When pursuing physical therapy for balance and gait, the use of the C-Mill may depend on your personal ability level. Some people may need assistance getting into the body weight support system. Others may simply grab the support bars on each side of the treadmill to correct their balance. From there, an adaptive fitness specialist at Paraquad will set the machine up to monitor your performance and tailor each session to your personal movement goals.
The track improves in physical therapy efforts through interactive elements, such as augmented reality projections of your step pattern. Additionally, VR and AR games incorporate visual and auditory stimuli that keep you interacting with your therapy in a fun way.
The machine collects extensive data from each session, creating assessments that may include the following factors:
Weight Distribution
Slalom Walking
Tandem Walking
Obstacle Avoidance
Visually Guided Stepping
Reaction to Unexpected Circumstances
Speed Adaptations
Cognitive Dual Tasks
How Do I Start Adaptive Fitness?
The C-Mill is one of our specialized pieces of equipment used in physical therapy for balance and gait. Most participants need 1:1 attention from an adaptive fitness specialist at Paraquad to use the machine. To make your reservation today, contact the Orthwein Center at (314) 289-4202 or ask a staff member on the gym floor.
