Handling of the patient.
Body weight support (BWS):
Patients are allowed to hold on to the frame (lateral
or in front) (No. 3 in Fig. 1) using their arms for balance, but
are strongly discouraged to use them for body weight support. Body
weight support (BWS) is set when the patient is in an upright position
with knees fully extended.
Rule: BWS supplied via the harness is totally dependent
on the needs or capability of the patient. Thus in the first
session several attempts may be necessary to find the right values.
Chronic patients already ambulating or accustomed to standing upright
often perform better with little or even without body weight support.
Some patients feel insecure with BWS: In any case, BWS up to about
40 %, used especially in the initial phase, is gradually reduced
in the course of therapy.
Also on a day to day basis, body weight support and
speed of walking are set according to the momentary capacity of
the patient which, however, does not vary too much from one day
to the other (see below, "speed").
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