When we think of the aging process, images of people slowing down and becoming less mobile, come to mind. As one of largest population segments starts hitting the high notes of age, reaching this new milestone will also bring about change.
It is a cold hard fact that providing care to this population will be a great challenge. Prevention measures that incorporate learning new ways to lead a healthy lifestyle in order to ward off disease and injury is a necessary step to take. For so many, however, disease or life-changing falls happen without warning. The goal is to develop rehabilitation programs to work with people before something happens and to quickly get them back to their lives when an injury takes place.
Biodex Medical Systems, Inc. has been researching physical medicine and rehabilitation technology for decades, learning a thing-or-two along the way. Yet the physical rehab market always has new areas to address. The technology developed comes from years of field research and testing, complementing the way physical therapists and rehab centers treat their patients. Helping patients reach their physical goals brings us great satisfaction. We are always eager to share what some of our greatest fans are doing with our equipment to improve lives.
Biodex recently received a wonderful press release outlining how KORT Springhurst Physical Therapy, in Louisville, K.Y., was incorporating the new Biodex Balance System SD to treat a wide range of patients with an even wider variety of conditions. Here is what they said: “The population who can benefit from Biodex Balance System testing and conditioning is enormous. Prior to having this machine, it was very difficult for us to simulate real world conditions such as an uneven pavement or moving surfaces, which made it hard to really determine the extent of the patient's balance problem. Now with Biodex, we can more accurately simulate everyday movements and get a better idea of the patient's deficiencies.”
The important take-away from this release is technology like the Balance System SD aids is working in treating mobility. In order to remain independent, people need to adapt their lives to a variety of conditions. As we age, our gait gets shorter, affecting balance. As Don Gronachan, director of rehabilitation sales points out, “Mobility is more than just walking across the room. Mobility involves the daily tasks of reaching for an item on a shelf and having the balance to do so, picking something up off the ground and having the balance to right one-self without falling over.”
Mobility is so much more than moving forward, it is moving forward, sideways, backwards, and adapting to the change of one's environment without injury.
Lila Corwin is the director of Marketing Communications at Biodex Medical Systems in New York.