What does the medical abbreviation DGO mean?

Answer 1

This acronym is used in medical terminology to represent Driven Gait Orthosis, although, depending on context, there may be other meanings.

In the context of physical therapy to improve the mobility of patients with functional impairments in movement from such problems as paraplegia or hemiplegia, incomplete spinal cord injuries, residual effects from a stroke or head injury, Multiple Sclerosis, etc., this orthopedic device, known as DGO, is used during the initial stages of treadmill therapy to assist the patients' walking capabilities by moving their legs for them in proper physiological ways during the therapy exercise. This physical therapy is also called locomotor therapy or gait therapy/gait training.

The appliance/apparatus is a type of robotic assistance that the patient uses in RAGT (Robot Assisted Gait Training). The early therapy for these patients is very tiring for both them and their therapists who, until these orthotic robotic devices were available, had to lift and move the patient's limbs for them manually one step at a time as they walked on the treadmill. These devices now allow both the patient and therapist to continue the gait training sessions for longer periods at a time and make faster progress. They fit onto the legs and hips of the patient and assist with the motion of the knee and hip joints as well as the lifting and forward motions of the paralyzed limbs.