Physical Therapy Products and Solutions for Foot Surgery Rehabilitation

It has been reported by Linda Weber that more and more surgeons realize that physical therapy after bunion surgery can improve range of motion and other functional outcomes. Formally known as ”hallux valgus surgery” most surgeons will tell you that the outcomes of this surgery with physical therapy follow up are very good. But not all agree to what degree post-operative physical therapy contributes to functional outcomes. Sometimes doctors discharge patients with a self-administered exercise and massage routine and nothing more. Others prescribe an extensive supervised physical therapy protocol that can last from four to eight weeks besides home-based exercises. To complicate matters, patients start PT at various times after surgery, depending on the rate of healing and the type of procedure. Even though some physicians believe that if they recommend post surgical therapy it will seem as if they didn’t do a good job others feel that, in actuality, the physician is helping his patient optimize results and the overall post-surgical experience and that post-operative physical therapy can significantly improve range of motion and weight bearing outcomes. In a November 2009 and January 2010 follow up study a physical therapy group significantly outperformed a control group on the Foot Function Index (FFI) and the ACFAS Universal Foot and Ankle Scoring System. Physical Therapist Loshigian said ”Patients who have some sort of formal or informal physical therapy after hallux valgus surgery have better overall results and the progression of healing is more consistent and reliable.” The TUTOR system of physical therapy solutions affords one of the the finest in post lower limb surgery physical therapy tools. The LEGTUTOR™ system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the lower extremity including the hip, knee, ankle and foot. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable leg brace and dedicated rehabilitation software. The LEGTUTOR™ rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. This allows the physical therapist to set the exercise practice, performed through customized rehabilitation games, to the patients movement ability. Patients who are post knee surgery, for example, must do isolated repetitive knee flexion and extension exercises both in the lying, sitting and standing position to strengthen their knee. Having the exercises in the form of a customized rehabilitation game will motivate the patient to perform repetitive movement practice which is the mainstay of a physical therapist’s manual exercise technique. In addition, the LEGTUTOR™ system allows for a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the lower extremity, these evaluations allow the physical therapist to report on the patient’s movement performance and show the patient the improvements that they are making. The LEGTUTOR™ is also used for other orthopedic and trauma rehabilitation including total hip surgery as it offers the possibility to do repetitive, isolated and combined hip movement practice. Patients with neurological lower limb movement impairments including stroke, CP and spinal and brain injury patients also benefit from the use of the LEGTUTOR. The LEGTUTOR along with its sister products the ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow for controlled exercise of single and multi joints– like a foot movement at post bunion surgery– within the normal movement pattern. This prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks. The LEGTUTOR™ and the ARMTUTOR, HANDTUTOR and 3DTUTOR – the TUTOR system– is used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and has full FDA and CE certification. See WWW.MEDITOUCH.CO.IL for more information.