The Option of Exercise for the Cancer Patient

According to studies conducted Cancer patients may benefit from physical exercise both during and after treatment even though the specific beneficial effects of physical exercise may vary as a function of the stage of disease, the nature of the medical treatment, and the current lifestyle of the patient.
Many, if not most, cancer patients are interested in prolonging their life and not ”giving up”. Getting involved in an exercise program suitable to their medical status can be one of the best options for living an active life and returning to normal activities.
As an example breast cancer patients can make use of devices like the ARMTUTOR which allows for reaching out and
performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice. It does this through the use of various games which are at a patient-customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are also suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Overall, controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired or compensatory joint movement pattern.
The ARMTUTOR and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) can be used to exercise lower limb surgeries and cancer related disabilities. The TUTORs are used wordwide in leading hospitals and clinics. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

President Obama Signs HR 3630 – 10-Month SGR & Therapy Cap Exceptions Process Extensions Included

On February 22, 2012, President Obama signed into law legislation (H.R. 3630) that delays scheduled cuts to Medicare physician reimbursement rates and extends the exceptions process to the outpatient therapy cap. With this enactment it may be possible for rehabilitation therapy for patients with stroke, upper and lower limb surgeries and a host of other disabilities to continue to get covered treatments in rehabilitation clinics. It is hoped that amongst the therapeutic tools thereby made available the TUTOR system will be prominent.
The TUTORs (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) are in the forefront of rehabilitation tools that assist patients to learn how to reuse their affected limbs after a catastrophic illness.
Occupational and physical therapists use the TUTOR system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed TUTORs consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that 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 optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA .and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

An Analysis of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is very common in younger people with males aged 15-35 the most severely affected. TBI can cause life long impairments both in physical but also in cognitive abilities. The focus of retraining is on ADLs, pain mangement and non physical therapies.
TBI is caused by an external force to the brain which causes at least temporary but more often permanent neurological dysfunction. TBI occurs about ten times more than Spinal Cord Injury (SCI).
The results of TBI are disruption of the patient’s and family’s life, loss of income, considerable expense, physical disability, behavioral changes, personal relationship disruption, coping with school work and much more.
TBI can be as little as a concussion all the way to getting into a vegetative state.
Vehicular accidents are the most common cause with alcohol consumption accounting for half of all incidents.
Because each person is different in many ways the goals of rehabilitation need to be individualized to the patient and his family.
Continuity of care is necessary even if there is much improvment. The care is not only medical but also familial or instuitutional.
If Post Traumatic Amnesia (PTA) occurs for less than two weeks the goal may be full recovery but if it lingers for 4-6 weeks there may be more permanent symptoms.
In general the goal of rehabilitation is to return the patient to the previous level of functioning. It consists of a) inpatient care or b) community involvement (family, community services).
70-85% suffer mild TBI and it’s rare that they would need inpatient care. 10-15% have lingering symptoms such as headache, changes in taste and hearing, attention, memory loss, insomnia and more.
Those with moderate to severe TBI have more unpredictable outcomes although some recover sufficiently to return to work and are capable of self care and normal activity. Depending on available support TBI patients will rehabilitate faster or slower.
Then there is the social disability aspect of TBI. It can affect the competency for handling financial matters and sometimes a guardianship may have to be set up. When a TBI patient returns to work he may need retraining. There may be aggression, lack of empathy, substance misuse or abuse. Social behavior may have changed. Behavioral management may be necessary. A medication regimen and managment may become necessary.
Children usually have better outcomes than adults however certain symptoms may not appear till a later stage of the child’s development.
If one of the symptoms of TBI is loss of mobility in one or more limbs the preferred rehabilitation tool may be the TUTOR system.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed TUTORs consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that 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. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury

As part of ”Brain Injury Awareness Month” being observed during March and because there are so many instances of brain injuries now, doctors have come up with a list of symptoms that people should be aware of so as to get immediate help for someone who suffered this injury.
Not only soldiers serving in combat are prone to Traumatic Brain Injury ( TBI) but anyone, child or adult, at home, work or at play can suffer this debilitating injury. The effects of TBI include memory loss and thinking, hearing , speaking and mood difficulties amongst others. Sometimes there is a temporary loss of consciousness.
Anxiety, depression, dizziness, headaches, inability to start or finish tasks or trouble sleeping, are all some of the symptoms associated with TBI.
Therefore it is imperative to identify symptoms as early as possible.
When the TBI patient is in a recovery stage and if there has been loss of functional movement of a limb then the TUTOR system can be of great assistance to return normalcy to the affected limb.
The Tutor system (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) consists of ergonomic wearable devices together with powerful dedicated rehabilitation software. The system is indicated for patients in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction. The system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. Controlled exercise practice helps to prevent the development of compensatory movement patterns. The dedicated software allows the therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the therapist can objectively and quantitatively evaluate and report on the treatment progress. The rehabilitation system optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTOR system is FDA and CE certified.
See WWW. HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Halo removed from Hockey Player

MINNEAPOLIS – Jack Jablonski, an injured Benilde-St. Margaret’s hockey player, has reached another important step in his recovery as he undergoes rehabilitation for a spinal cord injury. A nine pound piece of equipment dubbed “the Halo” supported Jablonski’s head, neck and upper body after he suffered his paralyzing injury during a varsity game in December. It was now being removed. The family said Jablonski was thrilled to move his head and “see the world from a more normal view.” Work will now begin to strengthen his upper body.
The ARMTUTOR was developed to improve movement of upper extremity limbs and joints after spinal cord injuries. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR 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. So early in recovery the occupational or physical therapists will work on improving range of motion, accuracy and speed of movements as well as muscle strength. The exercises are designed in the form of challenging games that are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and disease.
Currently the ARMTUTOR is being used in leading U.S. hospitals and clinics together with its sister devices the HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR. They are certified by the FDA and CE and are available for children as well as adults. See W.W.W.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Post Stroke Physical Rehabilitation for the Elderly Population

Michaela M. Pinter and Michael Brainin of the Department for Clinical Neurosciences and Preventive Medicine, Danube University Krems, Austria, in November 2011 published, a study about rehabilitation after stroke in the elderly population.
Since stroke is a leading cause of disability therefore rehabilitation is an integral part of patient care. Most interventions do not target aged patients but there is evidence to promote rehabilitation in stroke units in the elderly community. Till now most research has focused on the effect of interventions on recovery with different forms of impairment and disability. The most promising options for motor recovery of the arm include CIMT, robotic-assisted therapies, fitness training, high-intensity therapy, and repetitive-task training.
However, information about the clinical effect of different strategies of cognitive rehabilitation is scarce. Several trials of rehabilitation practice are underway to test these interventions on the elderly., Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and repetitive task training are included in the rehabilitation therapy afforded by the TUTOR system.
The TUTOR system allows the stroke patient to use his own power to exercise rather than receive a stimulus from an outside robotic source thereby affording a more efficient improvement in mobility. The ARMTUTOR which is used extensively in stroke therapy, has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder, elbow, wrist or upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software.
The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows physical and occupational therapists (PT) (OT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patient’s movement ability and report on the patient’s exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice. It does this through the use of various games which are at a patient-customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases., The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Overall, controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired or compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better, performance of functional tasks.
The ARMTUTOR and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics and are FDA and CE certified. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information….

Wheelchair Strengths

Being bound to a wheelchair because of a spinal cord injury (SCI) doesn’t mean that self efficacy should be withdrawn. On the contrary, motivation can exist to excel in remaining body movements and even strengthen them beyond the level they were before. In addition wheelchair skills can actually improve physical activity. These skills can help people feel more efficacious in their ability to overcome barriers to physical activity. Just belief in one’s ability to overcome barriers can play a significant role in physical activity participation by people with SCI and can decrease other health risks.
One of the exercise regimens that can bring improvement to upper or lower affected limbs and joints is included in the exclusive software of the TUTOR system. The TUTOR system consists of a HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR. These recently introduced devices are ergonomic gloves or braces that are attached to various parts of the body and connect with sensors to powerful dedicated software. The TUTOR system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated or interjoint coordination exercises.. The therapist can then evaluate the treatment progress. The TUTOR system then optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows him to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve his quality of life.
Currently in use in leading U.S. and European hospitals and rehabilitation clinics the TUTOR system is appropriate for children as well as adults and can be used in the patient’s home through telerehabilitation. The TUTORs are FDA and CE certified. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.