Patients can either stand on the Kinetron footplates unsupported, apart from grasping the handgrips, or rest their buttocks on an adjustable height bench-seat to which they can be secured with a waist strap (see figure). As one foot is pushed down against the footplate the other leg must flex at the hip and knee (ie one cycle = one push with each leg). Resistance is presented upwards from the footplate against the bottom of the feet, simulating the natural ground-reactive forces encountered during walking. Exercise speeds are pre-set with options ranging in steps of 10 centimetres per second from 10 cm/sec to 90 cm/sec. The amount of force the patient is able to achieve with downward pressure on each leg is indicated by the movement of a needle on a small force gauge mounted on a rotatable pole at the front of the machine. It can be turned to give visual feedback to the patient. The Kinetron is purely an exercise machine; it is not linked to a computer so the only data available to the therapist are the kilogramme (or pounds) of force achieved at each thrust which must be read off this gauge, one leg-thrust at a time.
Patients must attain the pre-set speed in order for resistance to be given to their movement; therefore they are instructed to Push down as hard and as fast as you can’. Therefore to be successful they need to grasp this concept and be willing to comply. It is uncommon for very old patients to be asked to work hard in this way, partly because staff may be concerned not to stress the cardiovascular system. Indeed the manufacturers recommend that periodic checks of blood pressure and heart rate responses are made among elderly people who have a history of cardiovascular disease, long-term neurological impairment or recent strokes, or when any cardiovascular complications are suspected.