Wes Gunn gets ready for stroke rehab. He puts on a harness, and looks like he’s going to jump off a plane.
In truth, he’s working out with new equipment called Solo Step.
No matter what happens, he can’t fall to the ground. The track system that he’s attached to won’t let him.
“This is a real game-changer for anyone who’s struggling to walk,” says JoJo Casano, PT.
The new technology may bode well for the estimated 2.5 million people in the United States who have walking abnormalities that are unusual and uncontrollable. They are usually due to diseases or injuries to the legs, feet, brain, spinal cord, or inner ear. Sometimes the conditions are so severe that patients sit on the sidelines and get weaker with inactivity.
Casano says the main diseases and conditions that rob our abilities to walk are Parkinson’s, amputations, and stroke. Parkinson’s affects all muscles with alarming rules that govern a patient’s walk, posture, and muscles. In the course of a few years, they can begin to stoop, trip and fall and their range of motion becomes limited.
Stroke patients have similar problems. Sometimes their knee will buckle when they take a step and they’ll experience loss of balance. Usually one half of the body does not respond well with weight bearing. If you can imagine walking with a paralyzed leg, you could understand their walking difficulties.
But it’s worse for those who have lost a leg. Each year, over 70,000 individuals have a limb amputated and the main reason is vascular insufficiency caused by diabetes.
All three conditions will challenge our vertical nature and gravity will not be a friend. Falls will be a constant threat. Some patients have fallen so many times that they incur injuries and broken bones. Even worse, they develop a fear so strong that they don’t want to walk unless they’re holding onto a rail or touching a wall.
Even if they’re not injured, those who fall will cut down on their everyday activities. When a person is less active, they become weaker and ultimately increase their fall risks.
“Patients who need help with strength, balance and confidence can rehab faster,” says Casano. “Our fall protection system gives 100 percent safety from crashing to the ground. Without fear of falls, patients can experience a level of independence they’ve never felt before.”
Spring Lakes Rehab Center ceiling mounted track system – provides support by decreasing weight bearing stress and can safely treat patients up to 500 pounds. The multi directional movement that occurs is different than what other systems provide. With a wider range of motion for function, walking and balance, patients can be challenged with therapy governed treatment.
Before the new system, the treatment that led to progressive improvements was less challenging and rehab outcomes could be a longer process.
For example, patients who needed help walking were closely followed by a wheelchair and two or more therapists. And those patients with a history of falls were apprehensive, their movement was halted, and they lacked confidence.
Being harnessed into a ceiling mounted track system takes away fear which allows natural movement and a quicker advancement through therapy. “I’ve even seen two of my patients feel free enough to dance in therapy with this new equipment,” says Casano.
“We’re taking the right step with an advanced system,” says Casano, “but even more importantly, we’re getting patients back to less fear with walking.”
Spring Lake Rehabilitation Center offers comprehensive rehabilitative outpatient and inpatient services for short or long term at 1540 6th Street N.W., Winter Haven-Florida. For more information, call 863-294-3055.
