Advancing gait rehabilitation through wearable technologies: current landscape and future directions.

Abstract

Introduction: Gait impairments due to neurologic injury or disease significantly compromise mobility and quality of life. Traditional gait rehabilitation approaches, though grounded in motor learning principles, often face limitations in delivering sufficient intensity, specificity, and ecological validity.

Areas covered: This review considers the landscape of wearable technologies for gait rehabilitation, including robotic exoskeletons, neuromodulation, and sensory augmentation platforms such as virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) and biofeedback. Literature was identified through comprehensive searches of clinical studies, systematic reviews, and feasibility trials. The paper explores mechanisms, clinical applications, and evidence supporting their use in gait rehabilitation for neurological populations.

Expert opinion: Wearable technologies will continue to transform neurorehabilitation by enabling more precise, consistent, and personalized therapy both in the clinic and at home. However, adoption can be limited by high costs, usability challenges, fragmented evidence, and limited integration into clinical workflows. Realizing their full potential will require strong interdisciplinary collaboration and structured training pathways to support clinical use. Continued advances in hardware and software, including AI integration, will further enhance their impact by enabling more adaptive and efficient care. In five years, we anticipate a major integration of wearable systems as part of data-driven rehabilitation ecosystems, improving access and long-term recovery outcomes.