Parallel bars are commonly used during physical therapy and rehabilitation. They are used as a support tool to provide a safe way to work on skills likegait trainingandbalance.

If you have had an injury or illness that limits your ability to walk, you may work with aphysical therapistduring your recovery. Your physical therapist will use different methods andmodalitiesto help you as you work on regaining your strength, balance, and mobility.

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Physical therapist working with a man in parallel bars

What Are Parallel Bars?

Parallel bars are used in the physical therapy clinic to offer you and your physical therapist a safe and stable way of working on certain exercises.

In the physical therapy clinic, this is what the equipment consists of:

Conditions Addressed

Just about anyone who is working on gait training (improvement of walking ability) may benefit from using parallel bars.

Specific conditions that may use the support of parallel bars may include:

Any condition that causes difficulty with walking and mobility may require the use of parallel bars during rehab. The bars provide stability and safety while you are regaining strength and mobility.

Gait Training

When you are learning to walk again, your physical therapist may use parallel bars to provide you with extra support.

Examples of situations when parallel bars are used:

Some physical therapy clinics have body weight-supported gait training devices to help people walk. These harnesses are attached to a stable structure (like the wall or ceiling) and may move along tracks while you are wearing a harness.

These devices are used to take some weight off while you are learning to walk again with full weight bearing. The use of parallel bars with body weight-supported gait devices may help add extra security to the rehab session.

Lower Extremity Exercise

Parallel bars can be used in the physical therapy clinic for lower extremity exercises. The bars allow you to hold on, tightly or gently, as you exercise.

Common exercises done in parallel bars may include:

Other Uses

Physical therapists use a variety of devices and exercises to target muscles and overall mobility skills. Parallel bars can be used to help build many physical skills, besides gait training and strengthening the lower extremities.

Balance

Since parallel bars are stable, your physical therapist may have you use them during balance exercises.

Upper Extremity

After an upper extremity injury, your physical therapist may have you use parallel bars during your rehab.While standing within the bars, you may perform tricep dips with your feet on the floor. This helps to strengthen your triceps muscles that extend your elbows and may be important for helping you rise from a chair.

Shoulder stretches may also be done in parallel bars. With the bars raised to their maximum height, your physical therapist may have you utilize the bars to stretch your pectoralis (chest) muscles, shoulder muscles, or latissimus (back) muscles.

A Word From Verywell

If you have been injured, ill, or are recovering from surgery, you may need to work with a physical therapist to gain strength and mobility or to learn to walk again. Your physical therapist may use parallel bars during your rehab to provide a safe and secure place for you to work on strength and gait training. By maintaining safety, you can be sure to quickly get back to your maximal level of function.

7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sahay P, Roy D, Das S, Mondal M, Sarkar B.Effects of Intensive Coordination Training While Walking In Parallel Bars with Visual Feedback in a Case of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type I: A Case Report.International Journal of Health Sciences.2017;7; 507-515.Dobkin BH, Dorsch A.New evidence for therapies in stroke rehabilitation.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2013;15(6):331. doi: 10.1007/s11883-013-0331-yLan L, Goodwin L, Bew P.Evaluation of a circuit training program for people with Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study.Hos Pal Med Int Jnl. 2018;2(1):34–40. DOI: 10.15406/hpmij.2018.02.00050Jagadevan M, Mohanakrishnan B, Murugesan S, et al.Progression to ambulation following lower limb fractures in an individual with a spinal cord injury: a case report.Spinal Cord Ser Cases. 2019;5(1):1-4. doi: 10.1038/s41394-019-0171-2Almeida, L.V., Fukuchi, C.A., Sakanaka, T.et al.A low-cost easily implementable physiotherapy intervention clinically improves gait implying better adaptation to lower limb prosthesis: a randomized clinical trial.Sci Rep11, 21228 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-00686-9Hai H, Takahashi I, Shima N, Udono K, Yamaguchi N, Ito A.Preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of postoperative early weight-bearing rehabilitation protocol for patients after double-level osteotomy.Progress in Rehabilitation Medicine. 2020;5. doi: 10.2490/prm.20200017Khallaf ME, Gabr AM, Fayed EE.Effect of task specific exercises, gait training, and visual biofeedback on equinovarus gait among individuals with stroke: randomized controlled study.Neurology Research International. 2014;2014:e693048. doi: 0.1155/2014/693048

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sahay P, Roy D, Das S, Mondal M, Sarkar B.Effects of Intensive Coordination Training While Walking In Parallel Bars with Visual Feedback in a Case of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type I: A Case Report.International Journal of Health Sciences.2017;7; 507-515.Dobkin BH, Dorsch A.New evidence for therapies in stroke rehabilitation.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2013;15(6):331. doi: 10.1007/s11883-013-0331-yLan L, Goodwin L, Bew P.Evaluation of a circuit training program for people with Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study.Hos Pal Med Int Jnl. 2018;2(1):34–40. DOI: 10.15406/hpmij.2018.02.00050Jagadevan M, Mohanakrishnan B, Murugesan S, et al.Progression to ambulation following lower limb fractures in an individual with a spinal cord injury: a case report.Spinal Cord Ser Cases. 2019;5(1):1-4. doi: 10.1038/s41394-019-0171-2Almeida, L.V., Fukuchi, C.A., Sakanaka, T.et al.A low-cost easily implementable physiotherapy intervention clinically improves gait implying better adaptation to lower limb prosthesis: a randomized clinical trial.Sci Rep11, 21228 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-00686-9Hai H, Takahashi I, Shima N, Udono K, Yamaguchi N, Ito A.Preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of postoperative early weight-bearing rehabilitation protocol for patients after double-level osteotomy.Progress in Rehabilitation Medicine. 2020;5. doi: 10.2490/prm.20200017Khallaf ME, Gabr AM, Fayed EE.Effect of task specific exercises, gait training, and visual biofeedback on equinovarus gait among individuals with stroke: randomized controlled study.Neurology Research International. 2014;2014:e693048. doi: 0.1155/2014/693048

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Sahay P, Roy D, Das S, Mondal M, Sarkar B.Effects of Intensive Coordination Training While Walking In Parallel Bars with Visual Feedback in a Case of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type I: A Case Report.International Journal of Health Sciences.2017;7; 507-515.Dobkin BH, Dorsch A.New evidence for therapies in stroke rehabilitation.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2013;15(6):331. doi: 10.1007/s11883-013-0331-yLan L, Goodwin L, Bew P.Evaluation of a circuit training program for people with Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study.Hos Pal Med Int Jnl. 2018;2(1):34–40. DOI: 10.15406/hpmij.2018.02.00050Jagadevan M, Mohanakrishnan B, Murugesan S, et al.Progression to ambulation following lower limb fractures in an individual with a spinal cord injury: a case report.Spinal Cord Ser Cases. 2019;5(1):1-4. doi: 10.1038/s41394-019-0171-2Almeida, L.V., Fukuchi, C.A., Sakanaka, T.et al.A low-cost easily implementable physiotherapy intervention clinically improves gait implying better adaptation to lower limb prosthesis: a randomized clinical trial.Sci Rep11, 21228 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-00686-9Hai H, Takahashi I, Shima N, Udono K, Yamaguchi N, Ito A.Preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of postoperative early weight-bearing rehabilitation protocol for patients after double-level osteotomy.Progress in Rehabilitation Medicine. 2020;5. doi: 10.2490/prm.20200017Khallaf ME, Gabr AM, Fayed EE.Effect of task specific exercises, gait training, and visual biofeedback on equinovarus gait among individuals with stroke: randomized controlled study.Neurology Research International. 2014;2014:e693048. doi: 0.1155/2014/693048

Sahay P, Roy D, Das S, Mondal M, Sarkar B.Effects of Intensive Coordination Training While Walking In Parallel Bars with Visual Feedback in a Case of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type I: A Case Report.International Journal of Health Sciences.2017;7; 507-515.

Dobkin BH, Dorsch A.New evidence for therapies in stroke rehabilitation.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2013;15(6):331. doi: 10.1007/s11883-013-0331-y

Lan L, Goodwin L, Bew P.Evaluation of a circuit training program for people with Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study.Hos Pal Med Int Jnl. 2018;2(1):34–40. DOI: 10.15406/hpmij.2018.02.00050

Jagadevan M, Mohanakrishnan B, Murugesan S, et al.Progression to ambulation following lower limb fractures in an individual with a spinal cord injury: a case report.Spinal Cord Ser Cases. 2019;5(1):1-4. doi: 10.1038/s41394-019-0171-2

Almeida, L.V., Fukuchi, C.A., Sakanaka, T.et al.A low-cost easily implementable physiotherapy intervention clinically improves gait implying better adaptation to lower limb prosthesis: a randomized clinical trial.Sci Rep11, 21228 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-00686-9

Hai H, Takahashi I, Shima N, Udono K, Yamaguchi N, Ito A.Preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of postoperative early weight-bearing rehabilitation protocol for patients after double-level osteotomy.Progress in Rehabilitation Medicine. 2020;5. doi: 10.2490/prm.20200017

Khallaf ME, Gabr AM, Fayed EE.Effect of task specific exercises, gait training, and visual biofeedback on equinovarus gait among individuals with stroke: randomized controlled study.Neurology Research International. 2014;2014:e693048. doi: 0.1155/2014/693048

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