Treating Cerebral Palsy with Adeli Suit Therapy

The Adeli suit was developed for rehabilitating children and adults with cerebral palsy. The suit consists of several components connected via a set of tension-bearing rubber bands, plastic elements, or metal springs:

• A vest or shoulder pads
• A wide belt around the hips or shorts
• Knee pads
• Shoes specially adapted to connect them with the rest of the suit.

The interconnecting elements between the suit’s parts mirror the connections of the human muscles: flexors, extensors, adductors and rotators of the trunk and lower extremities. It is possible to add additional connecting elements to correct the alignment of the shoulder girdle, trunk, hips, knees and feet, as well as for much more precise functions.

The important aspect of the Adeli Suit is that it does not limit the child’s voluntary movements, but does require more effort in order to create a particular desired movement. The bands can be adjusted to have either more or less tension during sessions, and are able to externally influence the tension of certain muscle groups of the trunk and lower extremities. The suit is individually adapted to fit the child’s height and does not affect the upper extremities.

In the 1960s, there was an intensive development of cosmonaut technologies. Research was performed to determine the influence of the lack of gravity and hipokinesis on the human body. Researchers discovered that a person surrounded by an environment with no gravitational pull displayed changes in their nervous, circulatory, respiratory and musculoskeletal systems.

In 1971, a professor created a suit called the “Penguin,” with the goal of combating the negative effects of an environment without gravity. One of the crucial components of the Penguin suit is the system of elastic rubber bands that force the skeletal and cardiac muscles to work, which is of particular importance for cosmonauts. The suit stimulates bodily exertion during space flight.

Shortly after the Penguin suit was created, the LK-92 Adeli suit was developed for rehabilitating children and adults with cerebral palsy.