Treadmill child safety rails #2
Henry has cerebral palsy and needs to exercise as part of his endurance training. The JLL treadmill he has is the same model as the one in another project (LINK). It’s popular for this purpose as it can go as slowly as 0.3 Km/Hr which is safe for children like Henry. It also has the very helpful feature of having threaded mounting points on the inside face of the steel upright legs. In cases like these the user needs to steady themselves by having safety rails at the correct height. There is also a danger of stepping on the non-moving front part of the treadmill which could cause a trip. In a previous project the client was 4 years old so the rails need to be mounted slightly higher. As Henry is only 3 they needed to be lower, but also take in to account that he was growing so they needed to be adjustable.
The solution
A rigid, painted softwood frame was used similar to the previous project on this model of treadmill. However the adjustment had be extended downwards to match Henry’s current height. Additional adjustment holes were provided so the frame can be raised as he grows. The threads in the treadmill legs are M8 so standard bolts were used. However to make it easily adjustable 3D printed knobs were fitted so they can be tightened and adjusted by hand.
The benefit
Before this frame was fitted it was not safe for Henry to use the treadmill. He can now do his daily exercise safely.
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