Balance Workout for Stroke Patients
The Trazer machine has been helping stroke patients in outpatient therapy at the West Pond Center in Ohio improve their balance through a new balance training program.
A Trazer machine has been introduced to help stroke sufferers undergoing therapy at Summa Health System's White Pond Center in West Akron, Ohio regain their footing and improve their balance.
Al Given, a 70-year-old retired welder who had a major stroke in February, is one of the patients who have been using the machine as part of their rehabilitation program. His exercises include stepping back and forth and right and left in front of the machine. When he moves his feet correctly, a target disappears on the screen. The virtual reality aspect, however, does not entirely take his attention away from the physical effort required to perform the tasks. "I don't look at it as a game, not when you almost bust your butt," he tells the Akron Beacon Journal.
Victims of stroke often have difficulty regaining their balance and proprioception and need therapy to improve those skills, which is something Trazer can help with. Gary Lake, manager of outpatient rehabilitation, and Eric Moats, athletic trainer at the Summa facility, first saw a Trazer machine at a convention in St. Louis two years ago, and decided to adapt it for use at their rehabilitation centre. Lake says, "Our reaction was: This is something we could really use from a rehab point." They have been using the machine in rehabilitation programs for patients suffering from knee injuries and those who needed to recover their balance after stroke.
The advantage that the Trazer machine has over those used in traditional physical therapy is that it asks patients to keep their head up while performing the exercises, which is how people usually go about their daily activities. In traditional therapy, stroke sufferers simply navigate around objects or lines on the floor. The Trazer machine is able to detect the position of the patient's feet and can provide them with information on their reaction time and centre of gravity.
Trazer is widely used in rehabilitation and various injury prevention programs as it can help significantly with balance training and recovery from ankle, hip and knee injuries. The machine allows trainers and physical therapists to control the rate, distance, and direction in which their patient travels in response to the cues he or she gets on the screen. It measures agility, speed, velocity, reaction time, acceleration and deceleration, and provides visual feedback in real time.
Trazer machines are used in training programs designed to improve functional strength and power, balance, coordination, range of motion, movement speed, reaction time, and cardiopulmonary condition. They help the brain respond more quickly to unexpected stimuli, which is significantly more beneficial to patients than traditional PT exercises. The machine also allows trainers to design and customize training programs for patients and clients, and is able to measure improvements in visual and spatial awareness, enhanced reaction time, and coordination.
Programs that use the Trazer can address a wide spectrum of cases where movement is vital to the patient's restoration of health, ranging from sports injuries and neurological disorders to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and even simple inactivity.
To learn more about how Trazer is used in physical therapy and rehabilitation, watch the video.
Source: The Akron Beacon Journal via Traqltd.com.