Suit Therapy is an intensive neuro-physical therapy that combines both conventional and non-conventional techniques to help with the rehabilitation of neurological damage. The approach concentrates on retraining the body from a neurological standpoint compared to the traditional muscular approach. For this reason, Suit Therapy is especially helpful for patients that have had a Stroke, or suffer from cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. The therapy sessions are very intensive and consist of three full hours of one-on-one with a therapist, allowing them to focus on the individual’s specific needs.
One of the largest challenges to a physical therapist is to stop a patient’s body from overcompensating to perform movements. Often, cerebral palsy patients will compensate for their weakened side by adjusting their movements and putting extra effort into the other side. Suit Therapy works to stop compensation from different muscle groups by putting the body back into proper alignment.
How does Suit Therapy accomplish this task? It starts with the suit. Originally the Suit was designed by the Soviet Space program (SSSR) to maintain the astronaut’s proper muscle activation while in orbit, a problem that astronauts still face today. Astronauts ran into some difficulties with putting the suit on in zero gravity, however physical therapists soon discovered the suit was applicable to correcting the muscle toning of cerebral palsy patients. During the 1990’s “Suit therapy” was developed to help children with Cerebral Palsy. By 2002 the device was brought to America and registered with the FDA.
Fast forward to today, Suit Therapy is used worldwide to bring patients of all types of neuromuscular disorders back to health and sometimes for the first time to health. The customizable suit allows the therapist to provide the proper tensions and supports to different parts of the patient’s body to bring proper muscle activation. Similar, yet adapted, from the very same concepts that were designed to maintain an astronaut’s health in space.
With stroke patients, the underlying reason for the weakened body parts is the loss of the connection and signaling from the brain to the body part. It is as though the brain has forgotten certain muscles in the body exist. Suit Therapy is specialized to retrain the body’s neural pathways to fire off muscle activation.
Suit Therapy can give brain-damaged patients their lives back by improving strength, endurance, balance, coordination, and motor skills. They will regain proper patterns of movement and support, normalize muscle tone, and improve their functionality to work towards independence.
If you have experienced a neurological debilitation with loss of fine motor skills, inability to walk or brain imbalance, let Oxford Recovery Center conduct a FREE evaluation of your disorders and determine a plan for your recovery. The Oxford Recovery Center integrates Neuro Physical Therapy and Suit Therapy programs to accelerate the development of new motor skills that strengthen muscles and teach the brain and body how to sit, stand and walk again. Call Dr.Tami Peterson today at 248-486-3636 to schedule an appointment at their new state-of-the-art Troy Location located at 165 Kirts Blvd., Suite 500. To learn more about their integrative therapy approach for a myriad of physical and neurological disorders visit www.OxfordRecoveryCenter.com. Let your healing begin!