If you suffer from the painful back condition spinal stenosis, you know how most exercises are difficult and painful. But some physical therapists are incorporating supported treadmill training into their patients' lives. This can be used in an effort to prevent surgery, or done post-surgery as part of rehabilitation.
Spinal Stenosis
As a person ages, spinal disks dry out and begin to shrink while chronic inflammation or arthritis may swell the spine's ligaments and bones. This results in the spinal cord narrowing, a condition called spinal stenosis. A slipped or herniated disk, congenital defects, bone diseases, injuries or tumors in the spine may also cause this condition, which worsens over time. Usually, one side of the body is more affected than the other, resulting in numbness, cramping or weakness. People with spinal stenosis usually find it difficult to walk more than a short distance, the National Institutes of Health says.
Unweighted Treadmill
An unweighted treadmill, also known as a supported treadmill, involves a harness as well as the walking surface. The harness supports some or all of your weight. Without the pressure on the spine, you can walk freely. The feeling is similar to exercising in a pool but without the hassles of wet hair and the need to change clothes. Physical therapists use unweighted treadmills with spinal stenosis patients, and also with people suffering from degenerative joint disease, leg pain, balance issues, and ankle, knee and hip weakness, says fast-centre.com.
Regis University Study
Julie Whitman of Regis University led a team of researchers in a study called "A comparison between two physical therapy treatment programs for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis: a randomized clinical trial." The results were published in the October 2006 issue of Spine. Whitman divided 58 participants with lumbar spinal stenosis into two groups. One group did physical therapy, unweighted treadmill training and exercise. The other group did lumbar flexion exercises, subtherapeutic ultrasound and walked on a regular treadmill. At both the six-week and one-year points, tests showed that people in the first group reported more perceived recovery. Whitman concluded that the treadmill training program involving progressive body weight support could be one factor in the improvement.
Other Use for Unweighted Treadmills
Physical therapist Malcolm Macaulay of the University of Minnesota-Duluth has used unweighted treadmill training for rehabilitating injured runners for several years. One day, two of the university's coaches approached him about using the same technique with healthy athletes. This is called overspeed training. The idea is that while the body weight is supported, the feet move extra fast over the treadmill's belt, improving speed and coordination. Runners, tennis players and other athletes claimed that overspeed training made them faster.
References
- Fitness and Sports Center Enhanced Rehabilitation: Unweighted Treadmill
- Peak Performance: Overspeed Training
- Spine; A Comparison between Two Physical Therapy Treatment Programs for Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: a Randomized Clinical Trial; Julie M. Whitman; October, 2006
- National Institutes of Health: Spinal Stenosis
