State of the Art Therapy Equipment Makes a Difference for Rehab Patients
After a hospital stay, a patient may be anxious to get better and return home. A hospital stay can come as a shock, and a patient may need to get used to making enormous changes in his life. While most short term rehab facilities offer a similar array of therapies and services to assist patients when they’re post surgery, they equipment they have can make a huge difference in the speed and quality of the patient’s recovery.
A smarter treadmill
Israeli company MediTouch makes the Balance Tutor Treadmill, which moves in four directions – backwards/forwards, medial/lateral, for rehab patients so that physical therapists can run a variety of exercises in various positions to offer the most complete options available. This technology has recently come to some rehab facilities and allows therapists a new way to treat patients.
Another entrant into the treadmill for rehab market is the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill®, created by NASA. An anti-gravity treadmill, it reduces body weight to make it easier for patients to exercise and take part in therapies that can assist in their recovery
New technology for hand, arm and leg movement
Another type of state of the art therapy equipment is a specialized glove. MediTouch makes the HandTutor, ArmTutor and LegTutor, which slip onto the patient’s limb like a glove and give the therapist biofeedback about the patient’s progress. This allows for pinpointed therapy and increased effectiveness in the patient’s rehab program.
From NASA to your rehab facility
Another innovation from NASA is the Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Treatment (EPAT®) system, a revolutionary system that sends pressure waves through the patient’s body that stimulate blood flow, increase metabolic activity, and accelerate promote a quicker and better healing process for the patient. Since the waves don’t require external contact, all this is done without chance for infection and no need for medication. Some of the conditions it can help are Tendonitis, muscle spasms, and chronic muscle pain.
Robotics
There are several makers of different types of state of the art therapy equipment in the robotics department which are becoming more universal and are a real improvement in rehab methods.
A simpler type of robot is in the form of a harness, which gives the patient a weightless feel that allows him to perform activities and exercised that would have otherwise been impossible. This gives much greater control to the therapist who can achieve much more in less time, and much more than would have otherwise been possible at all.
A very popular state of the art therapy in robotics is the exoskeleton, of which there are now several versions. The exoskeleton can provide the structure and support a person needs to do various movements that he would not be able to do without it. It also gives the therapist a way to control the patient’s movements, giving them a completely new vista in physical therapy.
At Hudson View Center for Rehabilitation in Bergen County, New Jersey, we use a variety of the best, state of the art therapy equipment so assist our patients in a quick and effective recovery.