High-Intensity Gait Training Speeds Healing, Returns Independence to Neurologic Patients

Following a serious car accident and surgery to stop a brain bleed, Nery Mejicano felt helpless. The 80-year-old who loved to travel could no longer walk or feed himself, and even lifting a spoon required assistance.

Helpless, however, doesn’t mean hopeless, and Mejicano’s physical therapists at Memorial Healthcare System had a plan to return their patient to his maximum physical potential. Utilizing high-intensity gait training -- a form of exercise known to aid the recovery of patients who have had strokes, traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries -- clinicians pushed Mejicano to go beyond what he thought he was capable of, and well beyond traditional PT interventions.

During the gait training, patients walk as quickly as they can in 45-minute sessions with minimal rest.

“We want them working to 60-80% of their maximum heart rate three times a week for approximately two months,” said Erica Perry, a physical therapist at Memorial Hospital West who works with patients during their outpatient rehabilitation. “Since they are supported by an overhead harness system, they can do this walking on a treadmill without any fear of falling.”

Higher intensity walking causes the brain to release more healing chemicals, enabling rapid improvements in a person’s ability to perform functional activities. The brain heals itself through this practice, and it also improves cardiovascular fitness which, in the case of stroke victims, minimizes the possibility of having another incident.

“This is the most difficult thing I’ve done, so I surely know what they mean by high intensity,” said Mejicano, who, at the time, was five weeks into the rehabilitation process. “I’m not looking to do the Boston Marathon, but I want to get back to hiking, traveling, and fully functioning on my own.”

The early results have been impressive, with Mejicano calling his speedy recovery “a miracle.” The octogenarian is now walking without a cane, cooking, and back to driving his car.