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Neurorehabilitation · UK

Private Lokomat gait training in the UK, in a specialist neuro gym.

A robotic exoskeleton over a treadmill, with a body-weight support harness, guiding your legs through a thousand or more consistent steps a session - far more repetitions than two therapists can deliver by hand.

A radiographer guides a patient onto the bed of an advanced 3 Tesla MRI scanner in a London imaging suite

Indicative pricing

What private Lokomat training costs in the UK.

Indicative ranges across our partner neurological rehabilitation centres.

In short

A block of twelve robotic sessions: £1,600–£3,200, with formal reassessment at the end.

Assessment or therapy Indicative range
Neurophysiotherapy assessment £150–£300
Single Lokomat session £150–£300
Block of 12 robotic sessions £1,600–£3,200
Combined robotic + conventional block £2,500–£5,000
Paediatric robotic gait session £150–£300
Outcome measure reassessment £120–£250

Robotic sessions are priced higher than conventional physiotherapy because of the equipment and the two staff usually needed to set up. Blocks are almost always cheaper than single sessions. A small number of NHS neurological rehabilitation units have robotic gait trainers, though access is limited and usually confined to inpatients.

The problem

The robot is a way to get repetitions, not a treatment in itself.

What drives neuroplasticity is the number of correct, task-specific repetitions performed with active effort. A driven gait orthosis delivers many more steps per session than manual assistance - but only produces results when combined with conventional therapy and overground practice.

  • Cannot yet walk enough to train?

    This is exactly what robotic training solves - it lets you accumulate hundreds of steps when overground walking would produce a dozen.

  • Worried it is passive?

    Modern systems use biofeedback to show your own contribution to each step and reduce guidance as you improve. Passive riding produces little; active effort is the point.

  • Not sure your local centre has one?

    Robotic gait trainers are concentrated in a handful of UK centres. We tell you which ones have working equipment and trained staff.

When it helps

When robotic gait training helps.

The conditions where it is used most, the situations where conventional therapy serves better, and the sign that means stopping and seeking help.

  • After stroke

    The largest evidence base. Robotic training combined with conventional physiotherapy improves the odds of independent walking, particularly in the early months and in non-ambulatory patients.

  • Incomplete spinal cord injury

    Where some neural connection survives, high-repetition stepping supports functional walking gains alongside overground and activity-based training.

  • Traumatic brain injury

    Gait retraining alongside balance, cognition and fatigue management, where the number of safe repetitions is otherwise limited by staffing.

  • Multiple sclerosis

    Used for walking endurance, spasticity and fatigue management, with the programme carefully paced around heat sensitivity and fatiguability.

  • Cerebral palsy in children

    Paediatric orthoses allow robotic training in children, used for gait pattern, endurance and function, often alongside botulinum toxin and orthotics.

  • Parkinson’s disease

    Used for gait speed, stride length and freezing, where the consistent external rhythm of the device supports pattern retraining.

  • When it is not appropriate

    Severe fixed contractures, unhealed fractures, significant osteoporosis, open pressure sores, uncontrolled spasticity, or height and weight outside the fitting range.

  • Red flag: dysreflexia, pain, skin breakdown

    A pounding headache with flushing in spinal injury, sudden severe pain, or broken skin under a strap means stopping the session and seeking assessment the same day.

Training options

Robotic training is one option among several.

What each approach offers - and where it fits in a programme.

  • Driven gait orthosis (Lokomat)

    Robotic legs over a treadmill with body-weight support and biofeedback. Delivers 600 to 1,500 consistent steps a session with adjustable guidance force.

  • Manual body-weight supported treadmill training

    The same principle with therapists moving the legs by hand. More adaptable to unusual patterns, but far more labour-intensive and fewer repetitions per session.

  • Overground exoskeleton

    A wearable powered device for stepping on real surfaces. Fewer repetitions than a treadmill robot, but better for standing tolerance, bone loading and confidence.

  • End-effector gait trainers

    Devices that move footplates rather than strapping to the legs. Easier and faster to set up, and often better tolerated by people with spasticity or contracture.

  • Functional electrical stimulation

    Surface stimulation of paralysed or weak muscles, used alongside robotic training for muscle bulk, cardiovascular fitness and foot drop.

  • Overground gait training

    Conventional walking practice with frames, crutches or orthoses. This is where treadmill gains transfer into real-world walking, so it always runs alongside.

  • Conventional neurophysiotherapy

    Strength, balance, trunk control and task practice. The evidence supports robot plus conventional therapy - not the robot on its own.

  • Assessment and second opinion only

    An honest review of whether robotic training would add anything to your current programme. Sometimes more conventional therapy is the better buy.

Safety and recovery

What the training asks of you.

Robotic gait training is safe when the screening and fitting are done properly. The issues that arise are almost always mechanical - straps, skin and joint position - rather than dramatic.

  • Skin pressure from straps and cuffs

    The commonest problem by far. Thigh and shin cuffs bear real force, and skin must be checked before and after every session, particularly where sensation is reduced.

  • Fitting range limits who can use it

    Height, leg length, hip width and weight all have hard limits. Some people simply cannot be fitted safely, and that should be established at assessment, not session three.

  • Bone fragility and fracture risk

    Disuse osteoporosis below a spinal injury makes low-trauma fracture a genuine risk during transfers and loading. A DEXA scan first is standard practice.

  • Spasticity and joint range

    Fixed contractures and severe spasticity prevent the orthosis from moving you through a physiological pattern, and forcing it causes pain and injury.

  • Autonomic dysreflexia in spinal injury

    In injuries at T6 and above, a tight strap or a blocked catheter can trigger a dangerous blood pressure surge. Staff must recognise and act on it immediately.

  • Passive riding achieves little

    Guidance force must be reduced as you improve, and biofeedback used to keep you contributing. A session where the robot does all the work is a session largely wasted.

  • Fatigue and cardiovascular load

    Sessions are demanding, particularly early on and in multiple sclerosis where heat and fatigue matter. Duration and frequency are built up gradually.

  • It is not a substitute for overground walking

    Treadmill gains transfer into real walking only when overground practice runs alongside. Programmes that skip this consistently disappoint.

  • Red flags during a session

    Pounding headache with flushing, sudden severe pain, a strap-line area of broken or discoloured skin, or new weakness - stop and seek assessment the same day.

Reading your rehabilitation report

Your rehabilitation report in four parts. Read the last one first.

Whether the block was robotic, conventional or both, the report your neurophysiotherapist writes keeps to the same shape.

A UK neurophysiotherapist reviewing robotic gait training outcome measures with a patient

A quiet reminder

Rehabilitation language is precise and can read coldly - we translate it for you.

If you would like us to talk you through the report before your review, just ask.

  1. 01 Header

    Diagnosis and baseline function

    The neurological diagnosis, time since onset, current walking ability and the specific goals agreed at the start of the block.

  2. 02 Technique

    Session parameters

    Number and frequency of sessions, body-weight support percentage, guidance force, treadmill speed and step counts - and how each progressed through the block.

  3. 03 Findings

    Outcome measures

    10-metre and 6-minute walk tests, Functional Ambulation Category and balance scores, compared directly against baseline rather than described in general terms.

  4. 04 Impression

    Progress, next block and home programme

    Read this first: what changed, whether another robotic block is worthwhile, and what conventional and overground work should continue alongside.

Recognised by major UK insurers

BupaAXA HealthVitalityAvivaWPACignaHealixBupaAXA HealthVitalityAvivaWPACignaHealixBupaAXA HealthVitalityAvivaWPACignaHealix

Cover for robotic gait training varies widely and many policies do not recognise it as a distinct benefit, funding it only within a general physiotherapy allowance. Rehabilitation after an acute event such as a stroke is more often covered than long-term training for a chronic condition. Case-managed and personal injury settlement funding is frequently the more realistic route.

Frequently asked

Everything we get asked about Lokomat.

Quick answers on how it works, whether it beats conventional therapy, who can use it, and how many sessions are needed.

  • What actually is a Lokomat?

    It is a driven gait orthosis - a robotic exoskeleton mounted over a treadmill, used with an overhead harness that unloads part of your body weight. Motorised hip and knee joints guide your legs through a physiological walking pattern, while software controls the guidance force, speed and support. Biofeedback on a screen shows how much of each step you are contributing yourself.

  • Is robotic training better than conventional physiotherapy?

    Not better - different, and best used together. The evidence, strongest after stroke, shows that robotic training combined with conventional physiotherapy improves the chance of independent walking, particularly in people who cannot yet walk. Robotic training on its own, replacing conventional therapy, does not show the same benefit.

  • How much does a Lokomat session cost in the UK?

    A single robotic session typically runs £150–£300, with a block of twelve at £1,600–£3,200 and a combined robotic and conventional six-week block at £2,500–£5,000. The higher price against ordinary physiotherapy reflects the equipment and the two staff usually needed for setup.

  • How many steps does a session give me?

    Typically 600 to 1,500 steps in a 30 to 60 minute session, against perhaps 50 to 100 in a manually assisted session of the same length. That difference in repetition volume is the entire rationale for the technology.

  • Who cannot use it?

    People outside the height, leg length, hip width or weight fitting range; those with severe fixed contractures, significant osteoporosis, unhealed fractures, open pressure sores or wounds under the strap lines, uncontrolled spasticity, or unstable cardiovascular disease. Screening for these happens at assessment, before any sessions are booked.

  • Does it work for children?

    Yes. Paediatric orthoses allow the same technology to be used in children, most often in cerebral palsy, for gait pattern, endurance and function. It is usually combined with botulinum toxin, orthotics and conventional therapy as part of a wider programme.

  • Will I be walking passively while the robot does everything?

    That would waste the session. Guidance force is reduced as your control improves, and biofeedback keeps you contributing actively to each step. Active effort is what drives neuroplasticity - passive riding produces very little. A good therapist adjusts the settings constantly through the session.

  • How long before I see a difference?

    Blocks typically run six to twelve weeks at two to five sessions a week, with formal reassessment at the end. Changes in walking speed and endurance are usually measurable within a block if the diagnosis and timing are right. If nothing has shifted on outcome measures after a full block, that is worth an honest conversation rather than another block.

  • Is it available on the NHS?

    A small number of NHS neurological rehabilitation units have robotic gait trainers, but access is limited and usually confined to inpatients within a specific rehabilitation window. Most people using robotic training long term in the UK are doing so privately or through case-managed or settlement funding.

  • When should I stop a session and seek help?

    A pounding headache with flushing and sweating in spinal cord injury, sudden severe pain, new weakness, or any area of broken or discoloured skin under a strap. Stop the session and get medical assessment the same day rather than pushing through.

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