HealthSouth offers new rehabilitation therapies

Victims of stroke or severe injury often have difficulty regaining the ability to perform everyday functions of living such as walking, talking and even swallowing.

In response to these difficulties HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Colorado Springs is offering rehabilitative treatment with the Interactive Metronome and VitalStim therapy programs, with the AutoAmbulator coming next month.

“These new technologies, combined with traditional therapy techniques, provide patients with the best possibilities for recovery,” said Dr. Scott Timothy, Medical Director. “I have seen dramatic improvements in my patients’ quality of life due to use of VitalStim and Interactive Metronome used in therapies.”

Interactive Metronome (IM) is a training program developed to improve processing abilities controlling attention, motor planning and sequencing. IM challenges a patient to match a computer generated beat heard through headphones with repetitive actions such as tapping his or her toes on a floor sensor mat or hand clapping. By improving these skills a patient can improve motor skills and function as well as many cognitive capacities such as planning, organizing and using language.

VitalStim therapy is the first and only FDA-approved Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation therapy approved for treating dysphagia, the difficulty or inability to swallow. Through specially designed electrodes placed on the neck, VitalStim delivers a carefully calibrated electrical current to the muscles that control swallowing function. The current muscle contractions that can result in improved muscle contractions and swallow function.

The AutoAmbulator was created by HealthSouth to aid patients with gait disorders.

This sophisticated treadmill holds a patient upright as robotic braces move the patient’s legs, simulating normal walking patterns. Available only in HealthSouth hospitals, the AutoAmbulator may help patients who have been injured recently as well as those who have not walked for years. The Food and Drug Administration in 2002 granted HealthSouth permission to begin using the AutoAmbulator. This device will be coming to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Colorado Springs in June of this year.

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