Intherasuit method
therasuit
suit therapy
suittherapy
method intensive
intensive method
intensive pediatric
cerebral therapy
therapy cerebral
intensive pediatric exercise
therasuit therasuit method
therasuit method intensive
pediatric fitness
tensive Suit Therapy

Intensive Suit Therapy is the use of a suit combined with Intensive Physical Therapy and consists of up to 4 hours of therapy a day, 5 days a week for 3 or 4 weeks. This intensity results in improvements achieved sooner than with traditional physical therapy (ie. ˝ to 1 hour per day, 1 to 3 days per week).

Indications for Suit Therapy

* Cerebral Palsy
* Traumatic Brain Injury
* Developmental delays
* Ataxia
* Athetosis
* Hypertonia
* Hypotonia
* Autism
* Epilepsy
* Sensory Integration Disturbances
* Down Syndrome
* Post - stroke (CVA)
* Post - trauma
* Central Nervous System disorders
* Mitochondrial diseases
* Hydrocephalus
* Rheumatoid arthritis - (this type of suspension can be used to provide joint distraction, therefore it decreases the forces acting on the joint itself and helps eliminate pain and further joint damage)
* Sport injuries
* Orthopedic patients
* Vestibular disorders
* Burns
* Fractures - early stages in rehabilitation
* Spina Bifida

Benefits of Suit Therapy

* Re-trains the central nervous system
* Restores ontogenetic development
* Provides external stabilization
* Normalizes muscle tone
* Aligns the body to as close to normal as possible
* Provides dynamic correction
* Normalizes (corrects) gait pattern
* Provides tactile stimulation
* Influences vestibular system
* Improves balance
* Improves coordination
* Decreases uncontrolled movement in ataxia and athetosis
* Improves body and spatial awareness
* Supports weak muscles
* Provides resistance to strong muscles to further enhance strength
* Improves speech production and its fluency through head and trunk support
* Promotes development of both fine and gross motor skills
* Improves bone density
* Helps to decrease contractures
* Improves hip alignment

Autism: is classified as a developmental disability that results from a disorder of the human central nervous system. It is diagnosed using specific criteria for impairments to social interaction, communication, interests, imagination and activities. The causes, symptoms, etiology, treatment, and other issues are controversial.

Cerebral palsy (CP): is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious neurological disorders that cause physical disability in human development, specifically the human movement and posture.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI): also called acquired brain injury or simply head injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. A person with a mild TBI may remain conscious or may experience a loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes. Other symptoms of mild TBI include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking.

Stroke: is a rapidly developing loss of part of brain function or loss of conciousness due to an interuption in the blood supply to all or part of the brain. A stroke involves the sudden loss of neuronal function due to disturbance in cerebral perfusion. There are many different causes for the interruption of blood supply, and different parts of the brain can be affected. Because of this, stroke can be quite heterogeneous. Patients with the same cause of stroke can have widely differing handicaps. Similarly, patients with the same clinical handicap can in fact have different causes of their stroke

Hypotonia: Decreased tone of skeletal muscles. In a word, floppiness. Hypotonia is a common finding in cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular disorders. Untreated hypotonia can lead to hip dislocation and other problems. Treatment is via physical therapy. In some cases braces may be needed to permit a full range of movement despite hypotonia.

Hypertonia: Increased tightness of muscle tone. Untreated hypertonia can lead to loss of function and deformity. Treatment is by physical and/or occupational therapy, and in some cases muscle relaxant medication. Injections of botulism toxin (botox) are a recent treatment for chronic hypertonia in cerebral palsy and other disorders. Also known as spasticity.

Mitochondrial diseases: are a group of disorders relating to the mitochondria, the organelles that are the "powerhouses" of the eukaryotic cells that comprise higher-order lifeforms (including humans). The mitochondria convert the energy of food molecules into the ATP that powers most cell functions.

Mitochondrial diseases comprise those disorders that in one way or another affect the function of the mitochondria and/or are due to mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial diseases take on unique characteristics both because of the way the diseases are often inherited and because mitochondria are so critical to cell function. The subclass of these diseases that have neuromuscular disease symptoms are often referred to as a mitochondrial myopathy.

Epilepsy (seizure disorder): is a common chronic neurological condition that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked epileptic seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. It affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. Epilepsy is usually controlled, but not cured, with medication, although surgery may be considered in difficult cases. Not all epilepsy syndromes are lifelong ? some forms are confined to particular stages of childhood.

Down syndrome (trisomy 21): is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. The condition is characterized by a combination of major and minor differences in body structure. Often Down syndrome is associated with some impairment of cognitive ability and physical growth as well as facial appearance. Down syndrome is usually identified at birth.

Hydrocephalus (water on the brain): is a condition in which abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain causes increased intracranial pressure inside the skull. This is usually due to blockage of CSF outflow in the brain ventricles or in the subarachnoid space at the base of the brain.

Spinal cord injury(myelopathy): is a disturbance of the spinal cord that results in loss of sensation and/or mobility. The two common types of spinal cord injury are:

Trauma : automobile accidents, falls, gunshots, diving accidents, etc.

Disease : polio, spina bifida, tumors, Friedreich's ataxia, etc.

It is important to note that the spinal cord does not have to be completely severed for there to be a loss of function. In fact, the spinal cord remains intact in most cases of spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injuries are not the same as back injuries such as ruptured disks, spinal stenosis or pinched nerves. It is possible to "break one's neck or back" and not sustain a spinal cord injury if only the vertebrae are damaged and the spinal cord remains intact.