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Tag Archive for: Neuroplasticity

NuStep Recumbent Trainer Donated to NeuroHope

October 20, 2014/in Annoucements, General Blog Posts/by Chris Leeuw

We began a crowdfunding campaign in August to help raise start-up costs for NeuroHope. The first equipment piece on our wish list, a piece that Nora and I consider an integral part of any rehabilitation and wellness clinic, was a NuStep recumbent cross trainer. Now, we are thrilled to announce that our first machine has been generously donated by NuStep!

I reached out to NuStep VP of Sales and Marketing Steve Sarns shortly after we launched the campaign and told him my story.  I explained what we are building in Indiana, and let him know the role NuStep had throughout my personal recovery. A NuStep was the first piece of equipment I could power (ever so slightly) on my own after total paralysis. Over the course of two years, from nursing home to rehabilitation clinic, a NuStep remained part of my daily therapy as I recovered movement and built strength and endurance.

Last month Steve welcomed me to NuStep headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan to tour the facility. I was blown away. Not just by the campus, factory, and facility (which was much larger and structured than I imagined), but by the entire staff. This is a team that is proud of what they have created and is genuine in their mission.

photo-2Steve’s father Dick Sarns founded NuStep in 1987, but the idea was born in the 1960’s when Dick began to research exercise products for people in cardiac rehabilitation. He wanted to create an easily accessible recumbent bike-style machine that could provide a safe and effective workout for people of all ability levels. The bicycle seat and pedals, however, were a problem; they were transformed to a chair with a stepping motion. Upper and lower body movements were connected to move in a reciprocal pattern, and NuStep was born. Over the last 20 years the machine has evolved and the company has grown. Every machine is made and shipped from their Ann Arbor campus. Sarns says around 40 new machines are built and shipped around the world each day.

photo-1The NuStep is not built specifically for people living with spinal cord injury. But, what makes the machine special is the accessibility it provides for people recovering from and living with varying degrees of disability. In rehabilitation a NuStep can serve as a therapy tool that some patients may benefit from early in their recovery. Incomplete spinal cord injuries need every opportunity to get their bodies moving. They must spend every moment they can sending signals through their healing central nervous system to promote as much neuroplastic gain as possible. One of the most memorable milestones in my recovery, on par with the moment I took my first step, was the first time I used a NuStep.

The first few months of therapy after my accident consisted mostly of range of motion exercises and assisted movement from therapists. That was the extent of my abilities as a quadriplegic with only trace amounts of movement from the neck down. After three months, however, movement had faintly returned to portions of my legs, and my body had finally regained the ability to better regulate blood pressure. I still lacked the ability to sit upright on my own, but my body could finally tolerate being in an upright position without passing out. My arms were still paralyzed but my therapist thought my legs might be strong enough to give the NuStep a try. She transferred me to the seat, put my legs and hands in place, and there I sat – in a machine and on my own for the first since my accident. It took a few seconds, but the pedals budged and soon all four limbs were gliding to the movement my legs provided.

It was the first moment I no longer felt completely paralyzed. I was barely moving the machine at the lowest setting, but I was moving it. It rejuvenated me. It gave me new goals to focus on and served as the impetus to the next level of my rehabilitation.

My unique experience aside, the main benefit of these machines is their role in wellness. They were built to provide people of all ability levels a way to achieve a low impact, full body-work out. It is just as important for people with spinal cord injures to remain healthy through exercise as it is for the able-bodied population. No matter the level of motor return, all spinal cord injuries require an incredible amount of daily maintenance. A NuStep is an elliptical machine or treadmill for the disabled. The motion loosens muscles, alleviates spasticity, improves circulation, prevents pressure sores and promotes overall health. The machine has adaptations that can be easily added for individuals lacking leg or hand function, making a full cardio workout possible for nearly all injury levels.

We plan to have our NuStep available when NeuroHope opens this winter. Whether it be for open-gym wellness purposes, or as a warm-up before a therapy session, we are excited to have the addition. I can’t thank the Sarns family and the NuStep team enough. It is an incredible gesture from a company making a difference in the lives of their clients.

We hope this NuStep will be the first of several for our facility.

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https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/John-WG-LS-crop.jpg 497 672 Chris Leeuw /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svg Chris Leeuw2014-10-20 18:14:272014-10-22 09:17:44NuStep Recumbent Trainer Donated to NeuroHope

As SCI Research Advances, Therapy Must Be Accessible

September 18, 2014/in General Blog Posts/by Chris Leeuw

It’s an exciting time for spinal cord injury (SCI) science and research.

The last 12 months have seen breakthroughs in laboratories and therapy gyms around country, and have led to papers published in some of the most reputable publications in the world. SCI foundations and medical organizations are aggressively pursing funds to finance research they hope may bring them closer to the cure for paralysis.  Directly linked to that cure, should it ever come, will be the need for an incredible amount of rehabilitative therapy.   Long-term therapy that, in the current health care system, is nearly impossible to receive.

To be clear, the “cure” for paralysis is not around the corner.  The scientific community is nowhere close.   Strides are being made however, in discovering some of ways the nervous system works.  Scientists and doctors are embracing neuroplasticity, the concept that the nervous system is not necessarily irreparable, but in some cases can “learn” to retrain itself over extended periods of time. 

Right now, scientists are witnessing long-distance axon growth (transmission lines of the nervous system) in SCI models.  They’re studying the transplant of neural stem cells into SCI patients.  They’re even investigating ways to use technology to route signals from the brain past injury levels.

And, in April, researchers from the University of Louisville and UCLA announced the biggest news of all.  In a study that made headlines worldwide, four men who had been paralyzed for years (pictured above) shocked their own scientists when they re-gained bits of voluntary movement as a result of epidural stimulation of the spinal cord.  Each man had a stimulator surgically implanted in his spinal cord, that when turned on, mimics signals from the brain.  Movement was expected.  Electricity stimulates the cord, which stimulates the muscle.  Voluntary movement, however, was what shocked the world.   With the device turned on, all four were able to move muscles in their hips, ankles, and toes on command.

As exciting as these breakthroughs are for the SCI community, they still don’t represent a “cure”.  The four men only experience movement when the stimulation device is turned on, and that movement is minimal.   Much more research is needed, and the study resulted in more questions than answers, but it is without question the start of something exciting in the field.

But, lost in the headlines of the results, is the time, preparation, and access to therapy that the four men needed to be eligible for the procedure and for the procedure to be successful.

These are not four guys plucked out of their chairs 3 years post injury. All four had been participating in unique and aggressive wellness programs at facilities in the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network. 

DustinCrop2 Dustin Shillcox is one of them.  I met Dustin shortly after his spinal cord injury, two  years before he was selected to be one of the fortunate four in the study.  Dustin and I were both injured in 2010.  Like myself, he attended Neuroworx in Utah, one of the few places in the country where aggressive, long-term therapy is accessible after injury. Dustin and I rehabbed together at Neuroworx nearly every day for the better part of 2011 and 2012.  And, we both participated in the 2012 Kentucky Derby Mini-Marathon by walking / rolling segments of the race with the Reeve Foundation.

Dustin, and the other three individuals selected, had to meet specific criteria (injury level, motor complete, time after injury, etc.) to be eligible for the study.  Once selected, they were also required to participate in 80 Locomotor Training sessions before the procedure.   Eighty sessions! Just to prepare.

After the devices were implanted in their spinal cords, therapy ramped up.  For more than a year, daily sessions lasting for hours were underway.  Different areas of their legs and core were alternately stimulated.  Voltage and intensity changed.  Controlled movement and standing was practiced.  A myriad of tests and exercises were repeated over and over again.  In time, with the stimulation turned on, movement and endurance improved. DustinLiftingLeg

When the results hit the media last spring, most spinal cord injured people had the same thought: “How do I get that implant?!”

But, in spite of what it may sound like, this study and the results were never about a “cure”.  It was, and continues to be, experimental research exploring how the nervous system works. It won’t be anytime soon, but maybe someday implanting electrodes into the spinal cord will be a part of the rehabilitation process.   That sounds promising – but there’s a glaring problem.

Remember that Dustin had to take part in 80 intense therapy sessions before the procedure, and continued daily visits after the procedure for more than a year. To put it in perspective, most SCI patients receive a grand total of 30 outpatient physical therapy visits per year  – if they’re lucky.   Therein lies the problem. 

Even if epidural stimulation, or any other neurologic breakthrough, advances to a point it becomes commonplace, a complete change in the policy of outpatient therapy needs to take effect.

Maybe advances in stem cell research will continue, and methods to safely re-grow neurons will be discovered.  Maybe technology will advance to the point signals from the brain can be routed straight to the extremities. 

Even if a magic wand made a cure available tomorrow, long-term rehabilitation programs would need to be available for there to be a benefit.

Right now those programs do not exist in most communities.   

Fortunately, a paradigm shift is coming.  There are a handful of facilities around the country that understand the need for long-term rehabilitation and wellness for individuals with neurologic injury.  

NeuroHope is creating one in Indiana. 

Not only so programs are in place for discoveries in the future, but so programs are in place for those that need it now. That’s our mission.  With your help we will get there.

Learn more about epidural stimulation, and other SCI research here.

Photo courtesy: Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Esquire.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/4thpower.jpg 380 540 Chris Leeuw /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svg Chris Leeuw2014-09-18 22:56:062015-08-14 15:22:02As SCI Research Advances, Therapy Must Be Accessible

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Mar 14

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#SpinalCordInjury recovery is a team effort💪. Caleb in a Locomotor Training treadmill session with the NeuroHope team. Step by step we’re here for you.  #keeppushing #AffordableRehab #spinalcordinjuryrecovery

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Mar 9

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On the first Friday of each month, we host a community group of rotating activities and topics. This month, @pawsandthinkinc, a fellow nonprofit that brings therapy dogs into the community paid us a visit!  Golden Retriever Nai’a had 3 objectives : Belly rubs, head pats, and smiles.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 😀.
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Mar 2

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Less than two months before her 2022 high school graduation, Olivia was paralyzed in a car crash.  She has been on a physical, emotional, and mental journey over the last year, recovering from her spinal cord injury.  In the year since her accident , she has suffered pressure sores, UTIs, blood pressure issues and more.
She bounces back , and keeps pushing.  The need for continued therapy and exercise programs after life-changing injuries is real - and her story is an inspiring one!  Read it through the link on our IG Story! .
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KENDAL driving NeuroFit class 💪💪!!
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Feb 14

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Happiest of Birthdays to Wellness Director Bart!! He has helped build our programs for 5 years and helped hundreds of people (like Mitch 💪💪) on their recovery journey!  Thank you Bart!
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Feb 5

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Calab (Spinal cord injury), on the floor with Barry and Kendal.  Balance and core work to keep his body moving 💪💪.
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Jan 31

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We are looking for an energetic Occupational Therapist passionate about #neurorecovery AND a Development / Advancement Manager to help our growing team reach new audiences, donors, and partners!

Join our growing team .Interested applicants inquire through the link in our bio, and type either "OT" or "Development" in the subject line.

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Jan 25

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Learning to walk again is something no one ever expects they will need to do.  It is the definition of determination, resilience , patience, and guidance.  PT Brittanie is here for Mark every step of the way 💪💪.

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Jan 6

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Therapy Director Elliot and Chris were in studio @indynowtv to tell the NeuroHope story and the hundreds of families we have helped on their road to recovery from #Spinalcordinjury #braininjury and #Stroke.  Neurologic injuries are life changing.  The need for affordable rehab after hospital discharge, and specialized fitness programs to improve long-term health is REAL.  Thanks to @uindy_kspt, @orthoindy Foundation , @reevefoundation and all those who have helped us grow.
Recovery is a process.  It’s why we’re here!.
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Jan 2

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Just a few of the NeuroHope #heroes battling #paralysis and the hard work they put in everyday….
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Dec 27

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Thank you @indystar for telling my personal story recovering from #spinalcordinjury , the growth of NeuroHope thanks to @orthoindy Foundation and most importantly ..the hundreds of people recovering from paralysis NeuroHope helps receive affordable , after-hospital care.

It’s all possible thanks to our amazing staff that change lives everyday , and the supporters that believe in us!

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#spinalcordrehab #spinalcordinjuryrecovery #sci #nonprofit #beinspired #indy #affordablerehab

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Dec 25

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at NeuroHope!

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It’s getting pretty Christmas-y at NeuroHope! 🎄 Decorations are up , and we’re in the spirit!
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Nov 30

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The healthcare system is complex, especially for people recovering from neurological conditions like spinal cord injury, brain injury, and stroke.  The cost of care is high, and the time spent in insurance-covered rehabilitation is short.  Our mission revolves around providing services for the people that fall through the cracks of healthcare.  It’s why we’re here.  We smashed our $5,000 #GivingTuesday goal, and raised $7,000 yesterday to support our programs for people recovering from paralysis
Thank you all!

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Nov 29

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Keep those #GivingTuesday donations coming! $200 for a chance for four ROW 1 Colts tix, field passes, transportation to #MondayNightFootball on 12/26!
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Help us reach our $5,000 goal to help those recovering from paralysis!

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Nov 29

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TODAY!  A $200 donation could WIN FOUR 1st row @colts tickets, field passes, and transportation to Monday Night Football 12/26! Courtesy of @hensleylegal !

Help us reach our $5,000 goal today to help people recovering from #paralysis. 
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Nov 14

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Day 1 of our @ndtassociation seminar led by DPT Monica Diamond. “Facilitating Transitional Movements Effectively”. 
Lecture and lab today - for postural control, and balance for neuromuscular impairments.
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Wishing a special #VeteransDay weekend to clients Mike, Bob, and ALL who have served!  Thank you for your service - and for being YOU.

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Kayode (c4/5 spinal cord injury) working on sit-to-stands with Megan.  Activating quads, glutes and STANDING TALL.  Recovery is a process.  This is why we’re here!.
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BIG Congratulations to Wellness Director Bart Richwalski - now certified through the NSCA as a Special Population Specialist (CSPS). This is a rigorous exam established for kinesiologists to address the unique fitness needs of those with chronic neuromuscular conditions.

We can’t express how lucky we are to have Bart leading our Wellness Team.  Since joining NeuroHope 5 years ago, he has built a parallel program to our clinical therapy side, and made NeuroHope’s overall model - a hybrid of skilled therapy and personalized fitness what it is today.

Congratulations Bart!.
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