Heleen A. Reinders‐Messelink
University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Cornelia-Stichting
Papers
6
Total Citations
287
H-Index
5
About
Heleen A. Reinders-Messelink is a rehabilitation researcher whose work centers on robotic-assisted gait training, motor rehabilitation following stroke, and the biomechanics of human locomotion. She has made significant contributions to understanding how the Lokomat — a widely used robotic exoskeleton — alters locomotor demands and muscle activation patterns, providing a critical scientific foundation for optimizing clinical gait rehabilitation protocols. Her most influential studies systematically investigate how Lokomat training parameters — including guidance force, body weight support, and gait speed — interact to shape muscle activity in both healthy individuals and post-stroke hemiparetic patients. With her two most cited works each accumulating 68–75 citations, her research has helped clarify the meaningful differences between robot-guided and conventional treadmill walking, informing how therapists can tailor exoskeleton settings to maximize therapeutic benefit. Her 2019 study further extended this work by examining temporal symmetry outcomes in stroke patients, directly linking training parameters to clinically relevant gait metrics. More recently, Reinders-Messelink has explored asymmetric guidance settings within the Lokomat — a promising but underexplored approach for addressing the unilateral motor deficits characteristic of stroke. Her body of work provides an essential evidence base for researchers and clinicians seeking to use robotic gait trainers with greater precision and purpose.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6