WHO IS NEURO CARE?

As a short introduction: We are the manufacturers of the Neuro Care™ and also distributors for other electrical stimulators of various types. Established in this business over 14 years ago, we have seen electrical stimulation develop in many different areas.

The Neuro Care™ has advanced from use by industry for work related injuries, sports injuries to healing wounds and preventing amputation due to reduced circulation in legs and feet to the most current, treating SCI patients.

There are an estimated 250,000 spinal cord injured (SCI) individuals living in the United States. On average, 11,000 new injuries are reported every year. Paraplegia (losses of movement and sensation in the lower body) affects 55% of the SCI population, and 44% are affected by quadriplegia (losses of movement and sensation in both the arms and legs).

Initial hospitalization (an average of 100 days), adaptive equipment and home modification costs following injury average $140,000. Additional lifetime costs incurred by SCI individuals average $600,000 and can reach as high as $1.35 million depending on the severity of injury and the age at which injury occurred. In 1992, there were 10,000 reported spinal cord injuries nationwide. The lifetime costs associated with these injuries are projected to total $10 billion.

By developing therapies for those who are already spinal cord injured, and preventing new injuries, the United States would save as much as $400 billion on future direct and indirect SCI lifetime costs. (Sources: American Paralysis Association, The University of Alabama national Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and Paralyzed Veterans of America.)

Electrical stimulation has been an effective, yet underestimated method of rehabilitation therapy for SCI patients. In general, the effectiveness has been seen within the maintenance program developed for paralyzed patients dealing with the problems which develop from paralysis (i.e. disuse atrophy, reduced circulation, spasms, and pain caused by all of these). There are even studies which show this as effective maintenance for the paralyzed individual.

Though the Neuro Care™ used within a "maintenance program" for paralyzed patients is very effective, it was discovered that more is available!

The first SCI patients were treated for symptoms resulting from their paralysis. We found that with the use of the Neuro Care™ we were able to get stronger muscle contractions without damaging the skin as some of the other electrical stimulators did when they were turned high enough to get a muscle contraction.

Some of the results seen included the healing of long term, non-healing wounds on heels and buttocks, as well as spasticity and disuse atrophy. All of the treatments were very successful. Even more successful than we expected. When treating the abdomen to strengthen the muscles we found that the patients were also regaining control of their bowels and diaphragm. When working the back for support or to relieve muscle spasms we found that their level of feeling increased. While treating the legs to relieve the spasticity or develop the muscles we found that the bladder function was affected.

These were so dramatic that our medical department began looking at specific pad placements and protocols for the different symptoms the paralyzed patients were having. The more the symptoms were worked, the more feeling returned. They then turned their attention to protocols directed at opening the neurological pathway at the site of injury to the extremities. Success was seen in every case of paralysis that was due to an "incomplete" spinal cord injury.

Simply stated, it is felt that the electrical stimulus "moves" the inflammation, around the injury site, which is restricting the neurological pathway. As studies are being done about the demylenating of the axon, more understanding of what is happening is coming to light.

More dedicated studies need to be done to verify the reasons why paralyzed people are regaining feeling and even walking again.

We have been using the Neuro Care™ SCI Treatment Program© for almost two years and in each, accepted case, there has been a marked change in the patient's status (quadriplegic to paraplegic, sensation and feeling returning in the lower extremities). The hardest thing we are seeing is not whether feeling will return, but after feeling returns to find a physical therapy program that is able to re-educate the muscles to learn how to walk. As the feeling returns, the patient is like a newborn baby. They have feeling and sensation, but control needs to be learned.

Electrical stimulation via the Neuro Care™ and the Neuro Care™ Treatment Program© are used to defuse the effects of demyelination of the axon in SCI and MS patient.