The conventional manual therapy requires two therapists each sitting on one side of the treadmill in order to guide the legs of the patient who is body weight supported hang up on the treadmill. The guidance of the legs is to be done according to a most physiological gait. Gait patterns stored in the spinal cord (CPG) become stimulated and activated. Several studies proved that patients with an incomplete lesion of the spinal cord could reobtain their primarily ability to walk. Besides of this obvious functional success there are more advantages effected by the locomotion-therapy. These are:

Stabilization of the sympathetic nervous system: Especially during rehabilitation physical activities aid to stabilize the sympathetic nervous system and thus prevent from thrombosis.
Reduction of spacticities: High tonicity of the extremities can be reduced by active exercise which leads to a reduction of spacticities.
Protection of mobility: Active exercise protects the mobility of joints. 
Psychological effect: Natural walking on the treadmill motivates the patient.

However, the manual locomotion therapy has serious disadvantages:

Stress and physical strain of therapists: In order to guide the patient’s legs therapists sit besides the treadmill in an uncomfortable position bending their body. Long-term this unergonomic position can be hurtful for the therapist.
Duration of therapy: The guidance of the patient`s legs requires high efforts from the therapist. Thus a therapy period is limited to 15 up to max. 30 minutes. Further treatments with more patients are hardly practicable.
No proper guidance of the legs: As two therapists each guide a leg, the gait pattern between left and right leg might be different. But especially the harmonic and rhythmic gait treatment is important to success in the therapy.