No. 2 in my arsenal of equipment is the RT300 hand and leg cycle. Using this regularly can decrease spasticity, improve awareness of limbs, decrease swelling, elevate mood due to endorphin release from physical activity and improve sleep quality.
Category: Equipment
RT600 Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)
Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is a physical therapy rehabilitation modality used to stimulate physical activity not otherwise possible for individuals with a neurological impairment such as a spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain injury or cerebral palsy. RT600 is an FES partial bodyweight stepping system, capable of accommodating a wide range of patients, and used in the rehabilitation of these neurological conditions.
RT600 integrates FES and partial body weight support technologies with motor controlled footplates which produce a “virtual ground” for gait. Electrical currents stimulate nerves which activate core and leg muscles including the abdominals and erector spinae, quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, gastrocnemius, anterior tibialis, to evoke stepping activities. This rehabilitation therapy enables a patient’s paralyzed or weak legs to move through patterned physical activity utilizing their own muscles while safely positioned in a partial body weight supporting harness.
“The RT600 is the first physical therapy system to bring the established benefits of FES to weight supported stepping for people with neurological impairments,” says Professor David Ditor of Brock University, in Ontario, Canada.
“It is the first truly practical rehabilitation system of this kind that I have seen. In addition to combining several valuable neuro-rehabilitation interventions, functional electrical stimulation, locomotor gait training and neuromuscular re-education, the RT600 is small and easy enough to use that I can one day envision it in the patient’s home,” said Cristina Sadowsky of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
“The RT600 finally makes partial body weight supported stepping integrated with FES available to a wide range of clinics at an affordable price point,” says Andrew Barriskill, CEO of Restorative Therapies. “We are excited to be introducing this world first therapy to a large group of patients who currently have limited physical activity options.”
We are proud to announce that this therapy is now available at Mary Rudd Physiotherapy, Hillcrest, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa