Training in Walking with Aids – Risks and Safety for the Patient

Impaired locomotor activity changes the dynamic stereotype of each person, and this leads to significant changes in daily life related to maintaining personal hygiene, performing household activities, social contacts and skills and habits at work. Building a new motor habit carries the main characteristics of a pedagogical process with in-depth knowledge of the basic principles and methods of training, knowledge and practical skills for performing a given motor act, but it also has its own specifics of motor training. The new motor habit for walking with aids must guarantee the safety of the patient, consistent with his individual functional capabilities for its formation. The purpose of this article is to formulate methodological guidelines for overcoming the risk factors in learning to walk with aids, guaranteeing the safety of the patient with impaired locomotion. Material and methods. Patients who have impaired or difficult locomotion, which can be a result of hip or knee arthroplasty; post-fracture conditions; soft tissue damage; central or peripheral motor neuron damage; femoral or lower leg amputation. Results and discussion. The emphasis in the development of a methodology for training patients in walking with aids is the formulation of methodological guidelines from the point of view of the safety for the patient and the reduction of the risk of trauma during training (fall), considering the peculiarities of the characteristic of the main phases for building a new motor habit (generalization, concentration, automation). Conclusion. Compliance with the methodical instructions in training in walking with aids ensures the cyclical construction of a new motor habit and minimizes the influence of risk factors.