Physical therapy technology helps patients regain mobility
Published: 2010-07-05 06:26:33By: Jacob Lammers | The News-Herald | March 7, 2010
On New Year's Day, Ryan Yeaw noticed that his face was numb.
Thinking nothing of it, he went about his routine. It wasn't until days later that the numbness progressed to his left foot and left arm.
The 42-year-old Mentor-on-the-Lake man had just suffered a stroke. Although he can speak again, the past two months have been a struggle to regain the ability to walk.
"It's a very humbling experience. You realize you're not 10 feet tall and bulletproof. That's where having a lot of good people around you helps out," said Yeaw, who mentioned that his fiancee, Connie Lang, has been there to get him through the rough patches.
Decades ago, Yeaw may have had to accept his paralysis and use a brace, limiting his mobility.
Physical therapy patients now have access to new forms of technology, such as functional electrical stimulation that aids recovery in debilitated legs or hands, said Lisa Rubin Falkenburger, director of Lake Health's Department of Rehabilitation.
"This just enhances what we're already doing," said Falkenburger, adding that they still use basic techniques and therapeutic exercise.
"What this does is it makes them all work together, and we see better results, maybe even faster results."
During a physical therapy session in late February, Yeaw worked with his physical therapist at TriPoint Medical Center in Concord Township, where he used the Ness L300 Foot Drop System.
Physical therapist Jim Pedley said the system consists of an electrically conductive brace below the knee and a wireless communicator that uses electrical impulses to tell the foot to move.
Full story