New Devices on the Market to Help With Orthopedic Rehabilitation

Orthopedic Rehabilitation makes up a large percentage of post hospitalization care and short term rehabilitation. Orthopedic issues, such as breaks and inflammation, often require different types of therapies and can knock a person out for a long time until there is a complete recovery.

What happens in orthopedic rehabilitation?

Someone can end up in orthopedic rehabilitation for a variety of reasons. Some of the cases it addresses are osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, bone fractures, infections, and sports injuries. Symptoms that someone needs to see an orthopedist include joint pain, back pain, and swelling. Often this comes along with an inability to move parts of the body.

Orthopedic rehabilitation may be inpatient or outpatient depending on the severity of the case. Someone who had surgery to correct a problem will normally go to a post op facility to gain strength and get therapies that will help him recover. Someone with a sprain or inflammation might get therapy once a week and be off his feet for a while.

The standard mode of care for treating these patients in rehab is a course of physical and occupational therapy that strengthens the muscles and teaches the patients skills. Other parts of a program may include nutritional education and exercise.

New advances in orthopedic rehabilitation

Advances are always being made in treating orthopedic issues and being integrated into a rehabilitation program. Here are a few samples:

Med3elite – this machine comes with a flap to wrap around the patient’s injured limb. It can alternatively become very hot or very cold depending on the needs of the patient, and it can switch within 60 seconds. Used in conjunction with traditional therapy, this can help someone heal more quickly. This is best for sports injuries, inflammation, and sprains.

Smart crutches – these use biofeedback to monitor the patient while he’s using the crutches. It checks pulse, the amount of pressure the patient is putting on the crutches, his vibrations, and more.

Smart balance system – also uses biofeedback, developed by NASA for astronauts, to help people regain balance.

Virtual reality – there are many technologies that employ virtual reality to help patients with balance and coordination. These often make use of specialized goggles or other 3D medium to give patients the feel of a certain space without actually having to be there. Clinicians can gauge the patient’s condition and progress by seeing how well they can interact within the system.

Robots – there are robots that help assist patients with functions that they can’t do on their own, letting the patient feel the movements. These movements become wired into the brain as they are practiced, allowing the patient to get closer to performing them themselves. They also track movements and give therapists info they need to align therapy with goals.

Limb trackers – these machines track the patient as he performs activities to see where he’s strong and where he needs more help. This helps the therapist to pinpoint therapy and give the patient what he needs most.

At Hudson View Center for Rehabilitation in Bergen County, New Jersey, we offer an outstanding orthopedic rehabilitation program to help our patients succeed in their recoveries.

 

 

 

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