For many people, walking is easy. They don’t even think about it, it is as easy as “taking a walk in a park”. But the act of walking is a far cry from easy; it is literally a constant balancing act. It takes a choreographed arrangement of muscles and tendons pushing and pulling against each other, of skeletal muscles tightening, a coordination of the pendulum movements between the arms and the legs, and the existence of a type of gyroscope located within the semicircular canals of our ears. And still, through all of the constant subconscious physical adjustments that our body has to do to stand up and move our body to walk, it is an easy maneuver for many people.

Yet for a large number of handicapped people or people who are in the middle of physical rehab, such a ‘simple’ thing as walking is a dream that has never come true or a fading photograph of what once was.

Getting up out of a chair to stroll to the kitchen for a snack or to the bathroom to wash hands are activities that are done all the time in households throughout the world, as well as going to the mailbox, spending time out in the garden or even engaging in an after-dinner walk. A simple independence of mobility that is common for most people is difficult to impossible for others, and the “others” are who Innovation In Motion would like to help feel a mobile freedom, an independence and a better quality of life.

Formed in the summer of 1999 and located in Angola, Indiana, Innovation In Motion manufactures many innovative items to assist people to walk and integrate within society. Building indoor and outdoor gait trainers, strollers, push chairs, standers and standing frames, Innovation In Motion believes that everybody should have the opportunity to stand tall and walk to the beat of their own drummer.

One type of product that Innovation In Motion manufactures are gait trainers. A gait trainer is a medical or rehabilitation wheeled device that can assist a person who is not able to walk independently or someone who has been injured and has to either learn or relearn to walk again independently. Innovation In Motion has gait trainers for children such as the Birillo Pediatric Corner Seat and Gait Trainer which allows young children the ability to feet-push themselves around from a sitting position, and encourages plantar/volar flexion as young users explore their environment. Viewed as a precursor of standing up and using a gait trainer, this device also highlights a corner chair that offers a triangular sitting position which helps prevent extreme trunk and hip extension while also allowing proper head and trunk alignment.

Another form of independence is the Dynamico Outdoor Gait Trainer which is a size adjustable gait trainer, ranging from a child’s size on up to adult. Equipped with four durable all-terrain tires, the two front tires swivel for a smoother ride over a rougher environment, while it also comes with a fully adjustable harness and pelvic/chest supports and easy-to-use hand brakes, allowing safer transfers in and out of the gait trainer. The sturdy, durable frame allows the user to enjoy the sun and fun of the outdoors and to walk among the fields and flowers of the land.

Another type of product that Innovation In Motion manufactures are standers, or standing frames, a device that can afford wheelchair-bound individuals the ability to experience an alternative position by comfortably supporting them in the standing position. Users must have use of their arms to help support themselves to receive the benefits of being in a prone or upright position. The Dondolino Prone and Upright Stander is for children with mild to moderate positional needs to be used in places such as schools, daycare, therapy sessions and at home. The user receives standing support from the adjustable pelvic supports, kneepads, frame, worktable and sturdy wooden base of the stander, thus allowing the user to be in a better position to enjoy the opportunity for improved digestion and breathing. The frame also tilts from 0-11 degrees and from prone to upright for children between 77 and 121 pounds.

The Standy Adult Standing Frame can adjustably grow with an older child and is large enough for a 265 pound adult. This stander can be used in high school or college settings, or for a therapeutic setting where a standing postural positioning can be a beneficial treatment. The back and chest supports are padded for comfort and the heel supports and knee pad can be adjusted for width and depth with easy-to-use adjustment knobs.

Standing shouldn’t just be for most people but also for those who would like to stand and have an opportunity to look people straight in the eyes to talk to them on the same height and level, or to be able to enjoy the freedom, independence and health of walking around the house or outside in the yard.

Standing and walking seem like simple acts of balancing a controlled fall, but for some folks, it is a thing dreams are made from and companies made up of determined individuals like Innovation In Motion are trying their best to be dream-weavers, making the impossible possible.

To view some other fine rehabilitation products from Innovation In Motion that include gait trainers, strollers, special needs strollers, push chairs and tilt-in-space wheelchairs, go to this Innovation in Motion link.

Bill Stock
Executive Editor,
Content & Social Media Services
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO