Summary:
Sunrise Medical has launched the Leckey MyWay Pedal, an innovative attachment for the MyWay+ Gait Trainer that uses elliptical motion to promote dynamic movement, strengthen key muscles, and improve walking ability in children with additional needs.
Key Takeaways:
- Enhanced Mobility: The MyWay Pedal strengthens anti-gravity muscles and supports upright movement patterns, reducing risks like hip and knee contractures while improving walking quality.
- Inclusive Design: It provides an engaging and accessible option for children with mobility challenges, encouraging participation, exploration, and physical development.
- Therapeutic Impact: The elliptical motion mirrors walking, promoting better joint alignment and muscle development, enabling milestones like improved posture and independent stair navigation.
Sunrise Medical has launched the Leckey MyWay Pedal, a new option for the MyWay+ Gait Trainer that introduces elliptical motion in standing to promote dynamic movement and enhanced walking ability.
Leckey, known for its expertise in pediatric seating systems, standers, and gait trainers, has decades of experience creating products that improve the lives of children and their families. This commitment to innovation and quality has led to the creation of the MyWay Pedal, which strengthens anti-gravity muscles and supports movement patterns that encourage independence and growth.
When attached to the MyWay+, the Pedal provides children with a fun and engaging way to improve walking quality and endurance, encouraging greater activity while making exercise enjoyable. For children with additional needs, developing lower limb strength and a reciprocal stepping pattern can be challenging, often limiting access to walkers and gait trainers. The MyWay Pedal bridges this gap with an innovative design that enables pedaling in an upright, extended position.
Unlike cycling, which reinforces a flexed posture, the Pedal targets key anti-gravity muscles like the calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings at their weakest point, helping to reduce the risk of hip and knee contractures while improving standing and walking ability. The elliptical motion of the MyWay Pedal provides a sensory-motor experience akin to walking. By stretching the lower limbs in a longer forward-and-back movement, the Pedal enhances joint loading around the hips, aiding development and promoting better alignment.
This has been extremely helpful to pediatric clients like Eli. “Eli is now able to stand up much straighter and needs less help in and out of his wheelchair than before,” says Eli’s therapist. “For the first time, Eli has also managed to descend stairs by stepping instead of transferring on his bottom.”
The MyWay Pedal makes the MyWay+ Gait Trainer even more impactful by improving stepping, strengthening key muscles, and maximizing opportunities for exploration, interaction, and participation, according to the company. Together, the Pedal and MyWay+ are designed to deliver a tailored solution to meet every child’s unique needs and abilities.
To find out more, visit www.SunriseMedical.com/MyWayPlus
Featured image: A pediatric patient using the Leckey MyWay Pedal on his MyWay+ gait trainer. Photo: Sunrise Medical