You have to be fast to hit the right colour when the Treax Pads are blinking. Elderly care services in Næstved Municipality bought three sets of Treax Pads a year ago.  Today, one year later, elderly citizens in Næstved are in full swing, training balance, coordination and fitness with the coloured pads. The physiotherapists in the municipality’s elderly care services use Treax Pads for training in training centres, as well as in the home. The primary users are persons of 65 years or older, with different diagnoses.

It was particularly the possibility of training in many different ways that made the municipality choose Treax Pads.

”We have elderly citizens with many different challenges, and Treax Pads can be used in so many different ways, which means it works for most of the elderly who receive our services,” says physiotherapist in Næstved Municipality, Ana Paula Evangelista.

You don’t stop when the lights are blinking

When Ana Paula Evangelista presented the coloured pads to her patients for the first time, they thought that it most of all looked like a discotheque. But when they were told that they can improve their balance, coordination and fitness by training with Treax Pads, it did not take long before they were convinced.

”The important thing is that training makes sense to them. They have to be able to see the purpose of it,” says Ana Paula Evangelista.

Once the lights are blinking, and training has started, a spirit of competitiveness is awoken for most people.

”Many of them won’t stop again as long as the lights are blinking, they just want to keep going. They want to prove to themselves that they can,” she says.

There’s no place like home

In Næstved Municipality, the physiotherapists also bring Treax Pads into the homes of patients who are doing home training. Here there are more opportunities to use the pads in other ways.

”Many of the elderly have poor fitness ratings. So we train fitness by letting them get up from their chairs, move to the right pad and the wall, and sit down again before moving towards the next pad. This trains balance and coordination. We can train quite a few different areas with an exercise like this,” says Ana Paula Evangelista.

As a physiotherapist, Ana Paula Evangelista is glad that the municipality decided to buy the Treax Pads.

”The pads make it possible to train and motivate the elderly in a totally different way than we would otherwise,” she says.

And as long as the lights are blinking, the elderly users will improve their fitness and balance.