West Michigan Hospital Only Facility in Midwest to Offer New Therapy for Neurological Patients
August 25th, 2005 by RespiteMatch.com GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ — Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation
Hospital has opened a Biofeedback Laboratory for Neuromuscular Re-education.
The Grand Rapids, Mich., hospital is the only facility in the Midwest –
and one of just seven in the nation — to offer the therapy, which is designed
for patients with neurological disabilities such as spinal cord injury and
cerebral palsy.
Mary Free Bed’s new laboratory was created in conjunction with Dr. Bernard
Brucker from the University Of Miami School Of Medicine. Dr. Brucker
pioneered the procedure for biofeedback neuromuscular rehabilitation in 1969.
Known as the “Brucker Method,” the procedure is based on operant conditioning
and is designed to teach individuals to use motor cells in the brain, brain
stem, and spinal cord more efficiently.
The laboratory will be led by biofeedback therapists Brittany Moore and
Megan Potter, both of whom trained under Dr. Brucker in Miami.
How It Works
Biofeedback therapy shows the most promise for patients with neurological
disabilities caused by spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, cerebral
palsy, spina bifida, Guillain-Barre syndrome, encephalitis, polio/post-polio,
myelitis, and Bell’s palsy.
“The most remarkable part about neuromuscular rehabilitation is that it is
not a time-sensitive therapy — there is no window of opportunity that can be
missed,” says therapist Megan Potter. “Biofeedback offers hope to patients
who may have stopped seeking alternative solutions or who may feel it’s too
late to attempt rehabilitation.”
The therapy uses operant conditioning, in which desired behavior is
immediately reinforced through a rewarding stimulus. Through immediate visual
and auditory feedback, patients learn how to reproduce, maintain, and control
responses to maximize muscle function.
“Ultimately, we help the brain reconnect with parts of the body it is not
communicating with,” says therapist Brittany Moore.
To Learn More
To learn more about the service, which is available only through a
prescription, please call (616) 242-0392 or (800) 528-8989 or log on to
http://www.maryfreebed.com .
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital is an 80-bed, not-for-profit, acute
rehabilitation center. Its mission is to restore independence, hope, and
freedom through rehabilitation to people with disabilities. As West
Michigan’s largest provider of rehabilitation services, its services include:
quality patient care for both inpatient and outpatient settings;
rehabilitation research; education and training; assistive technology; and
advocacy. Programs include: brain injury; spinal cord injury; stroke and
orthopedic; pediatric/adolescent, amputee, Lymphedema, Vestibular, motion
analysis center, rehab technology center, orthotics and prosthetics services,
and driver rehab.
SOURCE Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
Web Site: http://www.maryfreebed.com
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