HandTutor system active exercise to prevent hand and wrist contractures

In the February edition of NeuroRehabilitation http://bit.ly/emURPW Dr. Harvey and her team from Rehabilitation Studies Unit, Northern Clinical School, Sydney School of Medicine, University of Sydney, Australia discuss the management of contractures in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Contract ures are a common and disabling problem for people with spinal cord injuries and they are a complex and multifactorial problem to manage. Contractures have largely been managed with physical interventions such as stretch and passive movements and the use of orthotic devices. The objective is to ensure that contractures do not occur by maintaining soft tissue movement.
The HandTutor, ArmTutor and LegTutor systems encourages intensive active exercise practice. The patient is encouraged to flex and extend their fingers, wrist, elbow shoulder, knee and hip joints in order to prevent contractures.