A Day With PoNS®
What does a day with PoNS look like?
It might surprise you to know that many of the PT exercises that are part of PoNS Therapy can be done easily at home, or from wherever your day takes you.
PoNS Therapy includes 3 exercise sessions daily (20–60 mins): one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. Your registered PoNS Trainer will help you work toward completing an average of 100 minutes of PoNS Therapy per day, and create a flexible plan that allows you to work toward your goals.
An average day with PoNS Therapy includes these types of exercises:
Warm-up Exercises
Prepare your body and enhance the mobility of your neck, shoulders, and hips with simple movements that can be done without the PoNS device.
Movement Control Exercises
Improve body awareness and motor control, and retain motor patterns with specific, isolated movements.
Breathing & Awareness Training
Learn to breathe in a relaxed and mindful way while using the PoNS device—this can have a significant positive impact on your overall training progress.
Gait Training
Use the PoNS device to improve your posture and walking ability as you retrain movement patterns to achieve normal gait.
Balance Training
Use the PoNS device to support continued progress with your standing balance and postural alignment.
The PoNS Therapy program has 2 phases. Phase 1 lasts for 2 weeks and focuses on getting comfortable with the PoNS device and learning how to perform specific exercises. During this phase, you will work with your PoNS Trainer in their clinic, and independently at home.
Phase 2 spans weeks 3 to 14. Here, you’ll apply at home what you learned from Phase 1. You will also meet with your PoNS Trainer in the clinic regularly for guidance on progression.
Your PoNS Trainer will create a schedule that incorporates the different exercise types. Your schedule will be tailored to your needs, but here’s an example:
Sample Daily Schedule with PoNS Therapy
Session
Exercise type
Duration
Morning
Warm-up (without PoNS)
10 min.
Balance Training
20 min.
Gait Training
20 min.
Breathing and Awareness
20 min. (Phase 1 only)
Break
Afternoon
Balance Training
20 min.
Movement Control Exercises (without PoNS)
20 min.
Gait Training
20 min.
Break
Evening
Breathing and Awareness Training
20 min.
Session
Morning
Exercise types
Balance Training
Duration
10 min
Session
Morning
Exercise types
Balance Training
Duration
20 min.
Session
Morning
Exercise types
Gait Training
Duration
20 min.
Session
Morning
Exercise Types
Breathing and Awareness
Duration
20 min. (Phase 1 only)
Break
Session
After Noon
Exercise types
Balance Training
Duration
20 min.
Session
After Noon
Exercise types
Movement Control Exercises (without PoNS)
Duration
20 min.
Session
After Noon
Exercise types
Gait Training
Duration
20 min.
Break
Session
Evening
Exercise types
Breathing and Awareness Training
Duration
20 min.
Are you ready to Get Back
In Step With Life?
Individual results and experiences may vary. Talk to your doctor to see if PoNS is right for you.
References:
1. Tyler ME, Kaczmarek KA, Rust KL, Subbotin AM, Skinner KL, Danilov YP. Non-invasive
neuromodulation to improve gait in chronic multiple sclerosis: a randomized double blind controlled
pilot trial. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2014;11:79. PMID: 24885412; PMCID: PMC4017705. doi:
10.1186/1743-0003-11-79
2. Davies BL, Arpin DJ, Liu M, Reelfs H, et al. Two Different Types of High-Frequency Physical Therapy
Promote Improvements in the Balance and Mobility of Persons With Multiple Sclerosis. Arch Phys
Med Rehabil. 2016 Dec;97(12):2095-2101.e3. Epub 2016 Jul 1. PMID: 27373745. doi:
10.1016/j.apmr.2016.05.024
