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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").