Treadmill Training with HAL Exoskeleton—A Novel Approach for Symptomatic Therapy in Patients with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy—Preliminary Study

Exoskeletons, like the HAL® (hybrid assistive limb), have been developed to help patients with walking difficulties due to neurological disorders. This study explores using HAL®-supported treadmill therapy for patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). Three LGMD patients underwent 8 weeks of treadmill training with the HAL® exoskeleton, three times per week. Researchers assessed walking function before, immediately after, and 6 weeks after the training. The study found that the HAL® treadmill training was safe for LGMD patients and enabled intensive, repetitive locomotor training. All patients experienced some benefits from this method.

• 1
  All patients completed the 8-week therapy without any adverse reactions and reported improvements in their endurance.
• 2
  Improvements in walking function, as measured by the 10-meter walk test (10MWT), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and timed-up-and-go test (TUG), were observed after the 8-week training period.
• 3
  The improvements in 10MWT and TUG tests persisted even after 6 weeks of follow-up, suggesting lasting effects of the training.