GULDMAN SAFETY HARNESS
Revolutionize Your Mobility with Guldmann Safety Harness
The Guldmann Safety Harness Mobility System is a high-tech product manufactured in Denmark that allows patients to walk safely by being suspended from the ceiling while wearing a harness. Repsher Physical Therapy in Albany, New York has been a leader in the Capital District working with balance impaired patients using this system.
The essence of the system is the continuously charged motorized lift that connects to a harness that the patient wears while walking and performing weight bearing balance exercises. Patients cannot fall while wearing the harness. This gives them increased confidence to try more advanced exercises that they would not have attempted while not wearing the harness. The overhead rail system allows access for patients to use a dedicated treadmill, the gym floor, or our Biodex Balance System while enjoying the safety of the harness.
When using the gym floor, patients can safely negotiate hurdles, balance on one leg, stand on foam pads, and practice various exercises while viewing themselves in mirrors. One of our therapists worked with a de-conditioned balance impaired patient who was using a wheelchair. The patient returned to independent stair climbing in a matter of three weeks.
While not all of our patient results are quite that dramatic, we consider the Balance System to be an invaluable tool. Another benefit is that our physical therapists can safely manage patients who are larger than they are by using the controller that activates the motorized lift in minute increments, helping to lift the patient from the sitting position.
The support from the motor can also reduce weight bearing on healing joints while standing and walking. The motor receives a continuously supplied small current to keep it charged through out the rail system.
Most any patient who has either fallen or has a fear of falling can benefit from using this system.
INERTIAL EXERCISE TRAINER
A Low-Impact Cardiovascular Workout
Are you an older adult living with joint pain? You likely know that regular exercise can help manage your discomfort and improve your functionality–while boosting your cardiovascular and mental health, too! But if the pain makes exercise too difficult, you might wonder about your options.
At Repsher Physical Therapy, we’ve got you covered with a specialized elliptical machine designed for people just like you.
The Biodex elliptical machine is a recumbent (seated) elliptical machine that allows you to perform a natural stepping movement without stressing your knees, ankles, hips, and lower back. It’s one of the many tools available to help seniors improve their heart health and maintain function.
Revolutionizing Rehabilitation: The Impulse Inertial Exercise Trainer at Repsher PT
The Impulse Inertial Exercise Trainer plays an important role at Repsher PT in helping patients regain their prior level of sport specific coordination, power, and endurance.
The inertial exercise trainer utilizes the inertia of decreasing weight on a low friction sled from 17.5 pounds to 0 pounds. This enables the recovering athlete to move at increasing speeds as the weight is reduced on the sled. This is not possible using weights, which work against gravity. A weight-loaded system can only move at a slow speed to avoid the acceleration of the weight away from the body.
Another advantage of the inertial trainer is that the exercise can be multidirectional. The multilevel cord allows us to attach the resistance to various body parts and even objects, such as a baseball or golf club handle — perfect for sport specific rehabilitation at the speeds that occur during sport. Various body positions, like standing on one foot during the exercise, can be used to stimulate the trunk muscles and increase core strength at the same time.
The trainer employs alternately concentric (shortening) and eccentric (lengthening) exercises. As the athlete learns to train the sport specific movement at higher speeds, their coordination, power, and endurance are all greatly enhanced. Professional athletes like Curt Schilling of the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Socks and professional golfer Vijay Singh have benefitted from rehabilitation and sport specific training using the inertial trainer. We have found that all of our patients can receive comparable benefits from using the inertial trainer.
WHIRLPOOLS
A Low-Impact Cardiovascular Workout
Are you an older adult living with joint pain? You likely know that regular exercise can help manage your discomfort and improve your functionality–while boosting your cardiovascular and mental health, too! But if the pain makes exercise too difficult, you might wonder about your options.
At Repsher Physical Therapy, we’ve got you covered with a specialized elliptical machine designed for people just like you.
The Biodex elliptical machine is a recumbent (seated) elliptical machine that allows you to perform a natural stepping movement without stressing your knees, ankles, hips, and lower back. It’s one of the many tools available to help seniors improve their heart health and maintain function.
Whirlpool therapy is a physical therapy modality that is used to treat several orthopedic and neurological dysfunctions. While the name may make it sound intimidating, it is a non-invasive treatment that has proven to have minimal to no side effects. In fact, multiple studies support the use of whirlpool in addressing both chronic and acute pain. If you are suffering from pain and you are looking for relief, contact Repsher Physical Therapy in Albany, NY to see if you could benefit from whirlpool therapy as part of your treatment plan.
What exactly is whirlpool therapy?
Whirlpool therapy is a form of treatment that many people may not have heard about. Sure, it can treat pain… but what exactly is it?
Whirlpool is actually one of the oldest types of hydrotherapy, originally used as a way for physical therapists to treat patients with burns. Now, it is used to treat a wide variety of painful conditionals that you may be experiencing.
Whirlpool uses the properties of water buoyancy, viscosity, and temperature modulation to achieve the benefits of pain relief and healing. The temperature of the water in the whirlpool can be warm or cold, depending on the desired goal.
Warm vs. cold whirlpools
If the desired goal is increased circulation, then a warm whirlpool will be administered by a physical therapist. Warm whirlpools are more common than cold whirlpools, as the warmth helps in opening up the small arteries in the body and increasing circulation. In turn, the increased circulation helps in bringing fresh blood, oxygen, and cellular regeneration to the injured area, which promotes healing.
However, there are cases where cold whirlpools would be favorable. For example, cold whirlpools are typically administered when the desired goal is to decrease circulation to the injured body part, in order to restore homeostasis. Cold whirlpools can also help in managing the swelling and inflammation around the injured body part.
A combination of both hot and cold whirlpools are known as “contrast baths.” With a contrast bath, a physical therapist will repeatedly move the injured body part from the warm water to the cold water throughout the course of the treatment every 1-3 minutes. Contrast baths are used to create a rapid opening and closing of the arteries, thus creating a “pumping” effect throughout the body. This will help in decreasing swelling around the injured body part.
How does whirlpool work?
Whirlpool therapy takes place in a large tub that is filled with either the warm or cold water used for your treatment. The affected body part will be placed in the water, and then a motor will be started to move water around the body part in a jet-like manner. While submerged, you may be asked to move the affected body part in certain directions, in order to improve function and mobility in the injured area. Typical whirlpool treatments last approximately 15-20 minutes.
There are both physical and physiological benefits of whirlpool therapy. These include, but are not limited to:
Reducing pain
Reducing inflammation and edema
Improving range of motion and mobility
Healing tissue
De-sensitization with hypersensitivity
Whirlpool treatments are typically used in conjunction with other therapeutic interventions and modalities, in order to restore function, improve mobility, and promote healing. Additional treatments will be dependent on the nature of your condition and will be determined by your physical therapist after your evaluation.