HyperMED LOKOMAT NeuroRecovery
Nothing is Impossible!
The Christopher Reeves Foundation is wholly committed to finding cures and treatments for spinal cord injuries as well as improving the quality of life for people living with disabilities. The Foundation features Lokomat Gait Assisted Walking programs; for more information regarding Grants and Research projects visit www.christopherreeve.org Spinal cord injury and stroke related injury are typically sudden and unexpected. Neurodegenerative disorders are more progressive with all groups resulting in significant and progressive loss of neurological function and increasing disability. Neurological disorders are devastating and costly in human and social terms. Medical improvements have greatly increased survival rates however individuals are living longer but with disability with little hope of improvement – until NOW! HyperMED NeuroRecovery continues to pioneer the boundaries of recovery.
‘Why wait in hope of a miracle when healing has already begun – release the gift of Life that God has given us all’ Dr Mal Hooper
HyperMED NeuroRecovery going ‘Beyond Therapy’ Beyond Therapy goes beyond the conservative therapy program a person would normally receive as an ‘in-patient’ or even attending an out-patients program where the focus is on adapting to disability. Traditional rehabilitation programs are typically designed to get patients as independent as possible and trained on how to take care of them selves after discharge. In contrast HyperMED NeuroRecovery Beyond Therapy focuses on the full extent and capacity to re-train and re-learn function. Most patients in the chronic phase of their condition become stagnant in their recovery and virtually all aspects of recovery and motivation fade. HyperMED NeuroRecovery Beyond Therapy is like a ‘rigorous boot-camp’; patients attend between 4-6 hours on each day and receive combination therapies designed to challenge immune and physiological responses and facilitate change. HyperMED NeuroRecovery Beyond Therapy is best accomplished with a boot camp like situation and may extend for several weeks and in complex cases several months. Patients require an initial intensive saturation or start up program followed by periodic short blocks of intensive therapies designed to promote neuroplasticity salvage. Bottom line: ‘YOU have got to WORK!’
The Facts on Central Nervous System Disorders (Spinal Cord and Brain) There are an estimated 50 million Americans affected by diseases or disorders of the spinal cord and brain. The list of disorders includes: spinal cord injury, memory loss, addiction, schizophrenia, learning disability, depression, violence, stroke, brain injury, dementia, suicide and many others. More than 90% of the both the Australian and American population has experienced or will experience the effects of a brain-related, mental, emotional or behavioral, disease, disorder or injury at some point in their lives. Spinal cord injuries affect 250,000 Americans, costing more than $10 billion yearly. Head injuries have disabled two million individuals, costing the country $25 billion annually. Strokes affect 500,000 new people every year, costing the national economy $25 billion yearly. Spinal cord and brain disorders impact the American economy in excess of $400 billion a year, on direct health care costs and additional indirect lifetime costs. Individual suffering and loss to society, however, are almost impossible to quantify. Sources: American Paralysis Association for Brain Initiatives 2007.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Stroke Rehabilitation TBI and Stroke are among the leading causes of acute and chronic disability in Western countries. TBI occurs in more than 500,000 individuals in the United States every year and may result from such causes as motor vehicle accidents, falls, bicycle accidents, and other traumatic injuries. Stroke is among the leading causes of death in both Australia and the United States for women and men, with an incidence of just more than 500,000 individuals each year (USA). Stroke accounts for nearly one-half of all those hospitalized for acute neurological conditions annually. Although the majority of individuals who sustain a stroke survive, a significant proportion of survivors require rehabilitation, and nearly one-third have some type of permanent disability. Among those who survive stroke, 50 percent are alive more than five years after the event, which means that rehabilitation needs continue well after the initial event. The rehabilitation needs and goals of individuals with stroke vary considerably. For some, the goal may be to return to full independence and resumption of all previous life activities. For others, the goal may be to return home with family assistance. Source: Stroke Foundation.
|
