Gait training is a process in which someone is trained to walk. It may be used to help someone learn to walk again after an injury or to assist a person with disabilities who has not learned to walk safely and comfortably. Rehabilitation specialists are usually in charge of providing gait training, often at the recommendation or referral of a regular physician or surgeon who would like to provide a patient with tools for recovery.
The first step in gait training is a comprehensive review of the patient's medical history, followed by an evaluation with the patient. If the patient can walk, the patient is encouraged to do so while the rehabilitation specialist takes note of how the patient moves. Patient and therapist also talk together about the goal of the therapy and other types of therapy which the patient may be attending. During this process, the therapist learns more about what makes the patient tick, so that this information can be applied to working smoothly with the patient in therapy sessions.
The therapist breaks down problems with the patient's gait and develops a therapy program for addressing them. If a patient cannot walk at all, the rehabilitation specialist will start from the very beginning with teaching the patient how to walk. This process involves remapping the patient's brain and body together, with a series of exercises. Patients who are already walking may need to relearn the process in order to do so safely, as some people pick up coping habits to deal with injury which lead to an unsteady gait.
Early gait training is usually done with assistive devices like parallel bars. This is done to provide support for the patient so that he or she can walk safely. As the patient grows more independent and confident, assistive devices can be scaled back; a patient might graduate to a cane, for example. The goal of the training depends on the extent of the patient's injuries. An elderly stroke victim, for example, may always require a walker for stability, while a younger amputee may successfully walk on a prosthesis after gait training.
This process can take weeks or months, depending on how well a patient progresses. It is not uncommon for patients to experience periodic plateaus and setbacks in physical therapy sessions like those used for gait training. Being able to work through these and developing a routine which adds variation so that patients do not become frustrated is critical.