Equipment

The Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery® (CSCIR) is a unique, internationally renowned setting where innovation is our focus and recovery is our goal. A place where “thinking outside the box” and “the sky’s the limit” are not just catch-phrases, but the foundation of our program.

The CSCIR has searched the globe to bring the most advanced and innovative technologies for SCI recovery to the center. A summary of some of the equipment used in our program includes:

Second Step
Second Step, Inc. (www.secondstepinc.com) is currently partnering with the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery®, which is using the Gait Harness System® as part of its high-intensity physical therapy program for clients with SCI. The Adult Gait Harness System® is a functional training system which allows individuals to perform standing or walking activities in a safe and effective environment.

Whole Body Advanced Vibration Exercise
The CSCIR is the first rehabilitation hospital to use the WAVE vibration exercise system (www.wavexercise.com) for SCI recovery.

Physical therapists at RIM’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery® (CSCIR) in Detroit, and Grand Rapids, are using total body vibration exercise to help patients improve muscle strength, flexibility, range of motion, and circulation.

Fifteen minutes of vibration exercise produces similar results to one hour of conventional training.

The movement of the vibration plate simulates the body’s natural stretch reflex. This is similar to the knee jerk reaction that occurs when the knee is tapped by a reflex hammer in a doctor’s office. Without thinking about it, your body responds with a strong involuntary muscle contraction, leading to your leg kicking out. With vibration technology, these strong muscle contractions can be repeated at a rapid rate. At a frequency of 20 to 50 times a second, the vibration technology can produce up to 3,000 contractions in one minute.

RT300
Spinal cord injury clients participating in RIM’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery® program have access to one of the most technologically advanced Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) bikes on the market today, the RT300. The RT300 was designed and developed by the late Christopher Reeve’s physican, Dr. John McDonald. In the treatment of neurological damage, FES is used to facilitate muscular contractions in paralyzed muscles. The RT300 delivers electrical currents to activate the quadriceps, hamstring and gluteal muscles, enabling paralyzed legs to move through a regular patterned physical activity.

Body Weight Supported, Treadmill Walking
The body supported treadmill walking program is a treatment approach used by the CSCIR for individuals with spinal cord injuries. During the treatment, therapists place the client in a harness suspended from the ceiling to unload a portion of his or her weight so the client can perform walking movement patterns.

As the treadmill begins moving, the individual’s legs are manually moved one at a time by therapists in a rhythmic motion that simulates walking. If the individual has voluntary control of his or her legs, they assist with the movement of their legs as much as possible.

It is thought that with sensory input from the moving treadmill, as well as with the movement pattern of the legs, reflexes the in the spinal cord are capable of reproducing steps.

Benefits for some clients include maintaining muscle mass, reducing spasticity, improving strength, and enhancing cardiovascular function.

The NESS H200™ is a breakthrough in FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) technology that can dramatically assist patients with neurological disorders affecting the function of the arm and hand. The H200 is a non-invasive device, worn on the forearm and hand that enables patients to perform every day activities that were previously impossible. The NESS H200 can help the hand open and close, reduce stiffness, increase range of motion and strength, and improve circulation.

The NESS L300™ system is a state-of-the-art FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) system designed to help patients with neurological disorders affecting lower extremities. The NESS L300 is a low-profile device worn on the lower leg and foot, which enables easier, more natural walking. The NESS L300 may also improve muscle function, prevent/retard disuse atrophy, maintain or increase joint range of motion and increase blood flow. It has a built in sensor that recognizes the surface you are walking on and adjusts accordingly. It is also a much more streamlined device compared to other available options. There are no bulky wires to deal with and the compact design even allows patients to wear their normal footwear.

Looking like a mechanical bull, the Core Trainer works the back, abdominal and other core muscles. Whether moving front to back, back to front or side to side the Core Trainer tests your center of balance making you use your core muscles to keep balanced.

This machine is a lower body ergometer. It is designed to provide a lower body (or upper body if optional upper body ergometer is used) cardiovascular workout. An advantage of the MOTOmed is that a motorized action can be turned on, allowing individuals with little or no voluntary movement in their arms and legs to benefit from passive exercise. The machine can also be used actively. Benefits of the MOTOmed include improvement of circulation, loosen joints and allows tendons and ligaments flexible.

  

Specialized Ergometer 
In 2004, the CSCIR was the only rehab center in the country to acquire this specialized ergometer that tracks the clients’ coordination and endurance progress, while providing real time feedback. The CSCIR staff can also print weekly/monthly reports allowing clients to see in-depth data regarding specific components of their progress.

Standing Ergometer
This standing ergometer accomplishes a vertical gait like movement. Both arms and legs work together with arms in control. It also works on trunk stability, muscular strengthening, and cardiovascular endurance.