Whole body

What It Is

While it is hard for anyone to imagine having to learn how to walk again, this is a frightening reality for many people recovering from injuries, illness or disease.

What is Gait Re-Education

When someone has to re-learn how to walk, gait re-education ("gait" means the way you walk) plays a big part in getting them "back up on their feet". Gait training is a specialised type of physical therapy aimed at helping people improve their balance and their ability to stand and walk.

People Who May Require or Benefit from Gait Training

People who have had a spinal cord injury (Arroyo-Fernández et al., 2024).
People with long-term conditions such as Parkinson's disease (NICE, 2017), multiple sclerosis or arthritis.
People who have had a stroke (NICE, 2023).
People with joint injuries or joint replacements.
People who have had a lower limb amputated.
People with muscle conditions such as muscular dystrophy.
People with other neurological (nerve or brain) damage or disorders.

Not a diagnosis — for more information, contact me or another trusted healthcare provider.

Treatment

Self-Care & Treatment

The Gait Re-Education Process

I can help with gait training and set up walking aids such as canes, crutches and walkers, along with strength, balance and walking practice, and with hands-on work for muscles that are tight or tired from walking differently. In more complicated cases, I'll work alongside your health care team or refer you to them. See the My Approach tab for how I work.

The exact process of gait re-education varies from person to person. Your doctor or care team may advise you to begin gait training as soon as possible after an illness or injury that affects your walking. Your health care team may also suggest other types of physical therapy and treatment to help get you back on your feet.

Your health care team will decide when and how it is safe for you to start. You don't necessarily have to be able to take your full weight first: special equipment, such as a harness that supports part of your body weight while you walk on a treadmill, can allow training to begin before you can fully support yourself (NICE, 2023; Arroyo-Fernández et al., 2024).

Once your health care team has decided you are ready to begin, the rehabilitation programme is tailored to your physical and mental needs. Specialised equipment is often used in the early stages of gait training to help you keep your balance, build strength and give support and stability while exercising.

Gait training often involves walking on a treadmill, with or without a body-weight-support harness, and doing other exercises and activities to strengthen muscles (NICE, 2023). Early in rehabilitation, a harness can also protect against slips or missteps. Other activities may include standing up and sitting down, walking, climbing stairs, stepping over objects, lifting your legs and bending at the joints (NICE, 2023).

Gait Re-Training Results

When retraining your gait, the immediate goal is to build lower body strength and stability. Strong legs help you keep your balance and reduce the risk of falling. The long-term goal is to help you walk with confidence and, ideally, with little or no assistance.

When working to retrain your gait, a support network of family, friends, health care professionals and physical therapists is important for motivation and encouragement. Take it one step at a time. Your support team is there to champion you every stride of the way.

Treatment

My Approach

Learning to walk well again is mostly about practice: building strength and balance, and getting your confidence back. My aim is to help you walk with more confidence through gait training, set up the right walking aid, and ease the aches that come from walking differently or leaning on a walking aid.

I start by asking about your condition, any falls, and what your care team has cleared you for. Then I assess how you stand and walk, your balance, the movement and strength of your legs and, where relevant, your sensation and reflexes.

Strength and Balance

Strength work for the legs and trunk, such as sit-to-stands, step-ups and heel raises, adding repetitions first, then load
Balance work that progresses carefully, from feet closer together to heel-to-toe to standing on one leg
Gym-based progressions when you're ready for them

Walking Practice

Practising standing up, sitting down, walking, stairs, stepping over objects and turning
Setting up your cane, crutches or walker and showing you how to use it, and referring more complicated cases to your care team or an occupational therapist
A home programme between visits

Hands-On Treatment

Massage, gentle stretching and joint mobilisation for stiff hips, knees and ankles
Work for the shoulders and arms that take extra load from walking aids, and the back and hips that tighten when you walk unevenly
Gentle lymphatic drainage for swollen feet and ankles

With conditions such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or stroke, I keep the work gentle and adapt it to how you feel on the day. After surgery, such as a joint replacement or amputation, I need your surgeon's okay before hands-on treatment. Home visits are available.

I stay close and guard you during balance work. At home, do balance exercises beside a sturdy counter or rail with the floor clear. If you notice sudden new weakness, numbness, a drooping face or trouble speaking, call 911.

What to Expect

Typical Course

Typical course: Visits are usually once or twice a week early on, then weekly, then spaced out as you manage more on your own, with a reassessment at about 4 to 6 weeks. Most people notice their strength and balance improving within about 6 to 12 weeks of regular practice, and recovery after a major illness or injury, such as a stroke, often continues for many months.

What I Focus On

Gait & Balance Assessment

Leg & Trunk Strength

Balance Training

Walking Practice

Compensation Relief

Sources

References

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2023) Stroke rehabilitation in adults (NG236). Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng236/chapter/Recommendations (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2017) Parkinson's disease in adults (NG71). Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71/chapter/Recommendations (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
Arroyo-Fernández, R., Menchero-Sánchez, R., Pozuelo-Carrascosa, D.P. et al. (2024) 'Effectiveness of body weight-supported gait training on gait and balance for motor-incomplete spinal cord injuries: a systematic review with meta-analysis', Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(4), 1105. doi: 10.3390/jcm13041105

Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooGait Re-Education

What It Is

What is Gait Re-Education

People Who May Require or Benefit from Gait Training

Self-Care & Treatment

The Gait Re-Education Process

Gait Re-Training Results

My Approach

Strength and Balance

Walking Practice

Hands-On Treatment

Typical Course

References

Related Conditions

Book a session

Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooGait Re-Education

What It Is

What is Gait Re-Education

People Who May Require or Benefit from Gait Training

Self-Care & Treatment

The Gait Re-Education Process

Gait Re-Training Results

My Approach

Strength and Balance

Walking Practice

Hands-On Treatment

Typical Course

References

Related Conditions

Benign Hypermobility Joint Syndrome

Osteoarthritis

Book a session