Empirical study on how lower limb exoskeleton robots improve older adults’ physical performance through psychological mechanisms by Changjian Wang and Tianyou Zhang:

Participants in the intervention group wore lower limb exoskeleton robots, while those in the control group did not, so participants could clearly perceive their group assignment, posing a risk of bias due to expectation effects.

[…] The control group performs self-directed exercise training of the same duration and intensity without wearing the exoskeleton. The intervention lasts 8 weeks, with physical performance tests and psychological assessments conducted before and after the intervention.

[…] In the control group, there were no obvious changes in psychological indicators before and after the intervention; in the intervention group, the RPE perceived exertion score decreased significantly, while the exercise self-efficacy and ABC balance confidence scores increased significantly.

[…] three sessions per week, each lasting 40 min, including a 10-min warm-up, 25 min of exoskeleton-assisted walking and stepping training, and a 5-min cool-down.

[…] After the intervention, the intervention group showed increases in walking speed, step length, and 6-min walking distance, while gait variability coefficient and balance sway value decreased; the control group showed no significant changes in any exercise indicators before and after the intervention.

[…] Exoskeleton assistance is set to a low level (10–15 N·m) to provide light support and help participants adapt to the robot’s power rhythm while fostering a sense of safe exercise.

[…] The main training is optimized with alternating steady walking and short-distance stepping, walking speed increased to 0.8–0.95 m/s, and exoskeleton assistance set to a medium level (15–22 N·m).

[…] Assistance is dynamically adjusted based on the participant’s real-time condition, ensuring reduced physical strain while retaining some self-generated effort to avoid full mechanical compensation.

[…] Exoskeleton assistance is kept at a medium-high level (20–28 N·m), emphasizing gait stability and endurance training while reducing perceived exertion. Towards the end of this phase, the proportion of assistance is gradually decreased, encouraging participants to exert more effort themselves, avoiding device dependency, and reinforcing their confidence and capability to exercise independently.

I think there is a future where every player is wearing one of these exoskeletons off the pitch, between games, to help with recovery. Maybe even in certain types of training.

cc: Mikel Arteta and his weird and interesting alternative methods.