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News
Motorized Device Helps Patients Who Cannot Exercise
Mobility Management Newsletter April 2005
After treating the immediate problem, the Physical Therapist will routinely show the patient how to exercise properly to gain strength, mobility and a better range of motion. For ambulatory patients such as those with sports injuries or arthritis, the Physical Therapist may recommend pool walking or working with hydraulic exercise machines, or the use of light weights or some other regimen.
However, there are patients who are unable to stand on their own and perform traditional exercise. For paraplegics, quadriplegics, those with Cerebral Palsy or Multiple Sclerosis, spinal injured, and stroke victims who cannot exercise without assistance, hand manipulation may be the Physical Therapist’s only option.
One option for severely challenged patients may be the Quadriciser®, an innovative motorized therapy machine that gently moves all four limbs continuously and simultaneously. While Kinetech, Inc., the Knoxville, Tennessee firm that manufactures the device, makes no medical claims for it, there are numerous testimonials and anecdotal reports. These findings show how, with proper use, the machine increases circulation, heart rate and range of motion.
Larry Bohanan, President of Kinetech and inventor points out that “We need to remember that the patient using the Quadriciser® may be going from a virtual sedentary lifestyle to one which now includes a regular exercise program.”
Bohanan invented the machine to help his father who was about to lose a leg to gangrene. Using a prototype of the machine 25 minutes a day, circulation improved to the point that the amputation could be postponed for six months. Bohanan, along with his wife Patsy formed Kinetech, Inc. to market the machine. The Quadriciser® is now patented and registered with the FDA.
The Quadriciser® consists of a main motor drive system that drives cables and pulleys attached to handgrips and leg cradles. The handgrips and leg-cradles translate through a circular range of motion exercising upper and lower body extremities. The machine incorporates control systems that provide varying direction of rotation, speed and duration of exercise.
According to John Staley, a Physical Therapist with extensive experience using the Quadriciser® the machine allows a range of motion that works on multiple joins at one time. Staley has found that “just the ability to change certain position of the foot placement, and even the back support enables different ranges of motion at multiple joints at one time to be worked.” He adds that in his option, the machine is “rather easy to set up and operate.”
The patient sits in a padded seat or in his or her own wheelchair while the feet and the lower legs are supported in separate cradles. The hands grasp handles attached to small trapezes. Velcro assist gloves help patients who have difficulty gripping. After the patient is seated, a motor driven flywheel turns cords and pulleys to move the extremities through a smooth and functional range of motion with no assistance from the individual.
However, Bohanan says, “The workout can be adjusted for resistance to provide more active exercise. In this situation, the patient experiences all the benefits of walking while lying down.”
While most of the machines are found in private homes, Bohanan says that a number are in hospitals, rehab and Physical Therapist centers as well. Ocean Medical Center in Lauderdale-by-the Sea, Florida has had three of the machines since August of 2001.
Doctor Richard A Neubauer of the Center reports “Patients have been treated from 15 minutes to one hour daily, the ones with severe neurological damage. Several have been in vegetative coma for prolonged periods with marked degrees of spasticity.” When asked about the results, Dr. Neubauer said that they are encouraging. “This is a form of muscle release, exercise and neural stimulation and in all probability, increase in circulation to the brain that could not be accomplished in any other way.” Dr. Neubauer adds that his group has seen movement of extremities and limbs in patients who have had spasticity for a number of years.
Doctor Bernard A. Nemchausky who is Chief of Spinal Cord Service at Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Hospital in New Jersey says he likes the fact that “The Quadriciser® frees up the therapist while enabling the patient to receive range of motion throughout all extremities.”
While there are no formal clinical studies of the Quadriciser®, at the same time there have been no reports of serious injury to patients. Bohanan says, “We have had the Quadriciser® in use for over 10 years. We have never heard of there being a fracture or broken bone.” Bohanan believes it is “Because of the forgiveness of the bungee cord and the way the foot cradle swings, there is very little stress put on the limbs.” In addition, Bohanan claims that the machine is virtually maintenance free. “If anything goes wrong, we take care of it,” he adds.
Numerous testimonials from home users have encouraged Bohanan to go after wider applications for the Quadriciser®. Suzanne Sherer, whose daughter Teal Sherer suffered a broken back reports that “The Quadriciser® has helped Teal strengthen her leg muscles, which are no longer severely atrophied, and she is able to stand and walk for an hour every day.”
Another mother, Tara Dyer, whose son Andy suffered severe brain injury at age 3, uses the Quadriciser® to move Andy in a cross-pattern. “It built up the muscle tone in his legs to the point where he is now able to pull himself to a standing position.”
Even Multiple Sclerosis patients have found the machine helpful. Judy Moyers, who has suffered the condition for many years, says “The Quadriciser® keeps me moving, reduces the swelling in my legs and makes me feel a lot better.”
The Quadriciser® is an exercise option that promises to make the Physical Therapist’s job easier, safer, and more effective.
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