New therapy equipment is solving balance problems for South Valley patients
New therapy equipment is solving balance problems for South Valley patients
Visalia woman says she can walk again thanks to the NeuroCom® SMART
Balance Master® machine
VISALIA – Natalie Symanski can walk again, climb stairs, carry small
objects and bend over thanks to a new cutting-edge machine that is changing
the game for people with balance problems at Therapy Specialists in Visalia.
After having surgery, the 32-year-old married mother of two had tried to
regain her motor skills in physical therapy for more than a year. But
after just six weeks on the new NeuroCom® SMART Balance Master®
machine used by Therapy Specialists, Symanski no longer has the motorskills
of a 65 year old woman.
"That machine is amazing," said Symanski, whose motor skills
suffered after undergoing neurosurgery to correct a genetic condition.
The genetic condition had caused her brain tissue to extend into her spinal
cord giving her neck pain and making it hard for her to swallow.
The SMART Balance Master® is designed to help anyone young or old who
is at risk for a fall because of balance issues, said Klara Bergtholdt,
the Outpatient Therapy Manager of Therapy Specialists, a division of Kaweah
Delta. Kaweah Delta invested in this state-of-the-art piece of technology
to meet the community’s health needs and prevent falls, the No.
1 trauma injury and cause of death among people 65 and older, Bergtholdt said.
Similar in size to a phone booth, the SMART Balance Master®, measures
how well a patient's eyes, inner ears, muscles and joints are working
together to maintain balance. It provides immediate assessment and retraining
capabilities with visual feedback on either a stable and unstable support
surface. Physical therapists, including Therapy Specialists David Gaylor,
can make adjustments to their patient’s rehabilitation exercises
using precise data targeting the area of balance weakness.
The machine can diagnose a wide range of balance dysfunction, including
issues experienced by those who have strokes, diabetes, spinal cord injuries,
head injuries or orthopedic problems.
Exercise tests can be tailored by physical therapists to meet an individual's
needs, and can be progressed as patient's capabilities improve. During
testing, patients are strapped into a harness on the machine that prevents
them from falling, making it safe to use regardless of a person's
physical ability, Gaylor said.
"It's something we've wanted for a long time," Gaylor
said. "It gives me so many different ways I can test a person that
I couldn't do before. And, it gives me info I would only guess at
before."
Therapy Specialists is a division of Kaweah Delta. Therapy Specialists
offers physical therapy for orthopedics, hand, and sports medicine for
spine, shoulders, arms, hips and knees. Therapy Specialists locations include:
-Therapy Specialists, 1337 S. Lovers Lane, Suite C, Visalia
-Therapy Specialists, 820 S. Akers St., Suite 200, Visalia
-Therapy Specialists, 840 S. Akers St., Visalia
-Hand Therapy Specialists, 2342 W. Sunnyside Ave., Visalia
-Dinuba Therapy Specialists, 355 Monte Vista, Suite C, Dinuba
-Exeter Therapy Specialists, 1131 W. Visalia Road, Exeter
Kaweah Delta is a publicly-owned community healthcare organization that
provides comprehensive health services to the greater Visalia region and
Tulare County. With over 5,000 dedicated medical professionals and employees,
Kaweah Delta is committed to meeting the community’s health needs
through state-of-the-art medicine, high-quality preventive services and
specialized health centers and clinics. For more information, visit www.kaweahdelta.org.