Tutor System Known for Its SCI Rehabilitation Therapy Successes

MARTHA WAGGONER reports through the Associated Press on January 1, 2012 that a woman from North Carolina who married last summer following a poolside accident that left her paralyzed isn’t walking yet, however she hasn’t given up on learning to move independently again.
After training for almost three weeks Rachelle Chapman is stronger from her work at Project Walk, a spinal cord injury recovery center in Carlsbad, Calif. The 26-year-old from Knightdale hopes to return for more training that could help her walk for the first time ever since the accident which happened just weeks before she was going to get married.
It was on May 23, 2010, that Chapman was pushed into a pool by a friend during her bachelorette party. She fell into the shallow end and hit the cement bottom. The injury to her vertebra left her with no feeling from the chest down and feeling on the inside of her arms but not the outside.
Chapman got one round of rehabilitation therapy after her accident and tried to exercise on her own. Now she works out on a table that her husband, Chris, and his father built for her and does weight-bearing exercises on a home gym.
When Chapman arrived at Project Walk, she was weak. Her blood pressure was low because her muscles had atrophied and she didn’t have the muscle contractions necessary to move the blood. Mornings would be difficult for her and she wasn’t even be able to get into a seated position without her passing out.
In conjunction with the therapy that Chapman is receiving the TUTOR system has shown to be successful for Spinal Cord Injury victims.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR,) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. The system has been developed to improve the mobility of patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury or other disabling illness or event. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. This training is tailored and customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR,ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR is now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with the TUTORS being used in clinics and in their home. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist offering tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.