Spider Cage Therapy Sydney

The Spider Cage is named as such by the children we treat, who see it as a superhero Spider Man device! We have found that children love the Spider Cage for the freedom that it offers and will often request it for their therapy sessions even though it can be hard work. The Spider Cage, using restrictive bands, allows a child to be involved in gait training, balance and strengthening exercises while their body is correctly aligned and positioned in a partial supported weight bearing position, which is an evidence based therapy used by physiotherapists for the past two decades. Due to the time involved in setting up, it is most easily used during intensives or long therapy sessions.

• Assist the child to feel independent movement without a carer’s hands supporting them - providing development of independence and pride in our own outcomes
• Provide partial weight bearing support needed for the child to balance alone
• Provide support while practicing functional skills in different developmental positions, such as kneeling, sitting and standing
• Provide support while practicing transitions, such as moving between kneeling and standing, sitting and standing, and from half kneeling to standing
• Challenge the child’s balance reactions in a supported environment
• Allows the therapist to have their hands free to facilitate challenging movements and positions, allowing the child to develop confidence and independence
• Provide challenging therapy to bigger/older children in a safe environment
• Assist the child to practice falling which develops protective balance reactions
• Stimulate the vestibular system
• Systematically change the location/direction of cords to reduce the amount of assistance/resistance or to increase the amount of weight bearing until the child is performing tasks independently.

We use the Spider Cage across all our physiotherapy programs, however due to time constraints involved in setting up it is most easily used during intensives or long therapy sessions.