Tutors’ Secret is to Have the Patient Use His Own Initiative to Achieve a Good Result in Physical Therapy

Kurt Mossberg, a brain injury expert and a Professor in the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston department of physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences writes for CHRON.COM. on Friday, January 27, 2012 about the length and difficulty of physical therapy for brain injured patients.
In the U.S. there are 1.7 million new cases of TBI per year and even many more that are unreported. In contrast, there are approximately 11,000 new cases of multiple sclerosis and 40,000 new cases of Parkinson’s disease annually.
Fortunately, most TBIs are considered mild. However, a concussion, which is considered a mild brain injury, was once thought to have little to no residual effects. However, now we are learning about the long-term effects on behavior and cognition. Post-mortem studies of professional football players are finding that multiple hits to the head can result in changes to the brain that resemble Alzheimer’s disease.
Tremendous advances have been made in the treatment of TBI but there is still a long way to go in the area of post-acute and long-term rehabilitation. Robotic interventions are being explored in which isolated arm, wrist or hand movements are facilitated mechanically and even electrically. Leg movements and body weight can be controlled by a robotic device to help regain the ability to walk. However, some evidence suggests that a robotic intervention does not require enough effort on the part of the patient and the patient plays a less active role in the therapy session. The more the patient actively participates, the more likely there are to be long-term gains as the brain responds and adapts in a more normal fashion.
The TUTOR system has been created to bring the patient renewed limb mobility through his own efforts via these innovative devices. When the TBI or stroke patient has regained sufficient strength he can connect the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR to the dedicated software that has been created.
The TUTOR devices allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimize the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. All this is done through the patient’s initiative versus a robot doing it for him. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE and can be used in tele physiotherapy from the patient’s home.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.