SELLING TO THE REHABILITATION MARKET

The Rehab market uses many of the same pieces that traditional markets use, but selling into this market raises new challenges when compared to most any other market. 

This part of the fitness industry has historically been a fragmented market made up of stand-alone facilities, frequently associated with a hospital or a physician’s group.  The recent past has seen a few larger chains develop as well as specialty niche players focusing on, for example, sports related rehabilitation. 

No matter who is buying the product, remember that the customer is someone who, for some reason, is not at their peak level of physical performance or capabilities.  This could be a young athlete with a knee injury or an elderly person who has suffered a similar knee injury in a fall or athletic endeavor.  Either way, the individual is going to need to start the rehab process slow and move up in small increments.  What this means for fitness equipment is that it needs to adapt to these needs.  For cardio equipment, low speed capability with low required starting momentum is needed.  Strength and resistance equipment will require small initial weight loads and small incremental increases from as little as a half a pound.  Both types of equipment will need enhanced ease of access and additional protection like hand rails so that a disabled or injured user feels safe.

A good example of this kind of specialized equipment is Body-Solid’s Endurance T50 walking treadmill.  The high performance motor allows easy startup at speeds as low as 0.1mph – a speed at which many other treadmills can’t get the belt moving. In addition the speed increases in increments of 0.1mph as well.  Also part of this treadmill are handrails extending the length of the treadmill bed as well as a step up assistance plate to make it easier to enter the working area of the treadmill.  Combined with a larger and easy to use display layout and orthopedic belt, this treadmill has all of the important facets of a piece for the rehab market.

Other pieces, particularly on the strength side, are not necessarily specific to the rehab market but are still good matches because they come in lighter weights or are easier to use than some traditional strength pieces.  For example, the Body-Solid Tools lower weight vinyl and neoprene dumbbells (BSTVD# and BSTND# - as low as 1 lb increasing in 1 lb increments to 10 lbs), Fitness Bars (BSTFB# - several low weights including 4, 6 and 9 lbs), Medicine Balls (BSTMB# as low as 2 lbs increasing in 2 lb increments) and Resistance Bands (BSTRT# in various strengths) are all useful to the rehab center.