Treadmill Therapy

How walking heals the brain

While stem-cell research is getting plenty of headlines, Dana Reeve is also fired up about treadmill walking therapy, which Chris began using in 2000. Pioneered by V. Reggie Edgerton, PhD, professor of physiological science at UCLA and now on the Christopher Reeve Foundation's science advisory council, its success proves just how resilient the nervous system can be.


"If you put a nonambulatory person in a situation where a treadmill is moving underneath legs, the legs will walk," she explains. "The muscles start sending signals up to the spinal cord." In effect, the spinal cord is retrained, and people experience a lessening in their level of paralysis. Literally, some wheelchair users are taught to walk again. "The treadmill walking therapy is a modern miracle," she says.


Through aggressive physical therapy, including treadmill therapy, stationary biking, and underwater "walking," Chris, too, experienced miracles, although on a much smaller scale. He was able to move his fingers, for example, his shoulders, and eventually, even his legs. While the movements were very tiny, they did much to educate the world that the body can regain some function after severe injuries.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
More From Life