Ranken Jordan Introduces New Electrical Stimulation Bike

June 14, 2010

Ranken Jordan has introduced a new therapy device designed to increase electrical stimulation of muscles.  While a patient is cycling, the newly arrived RT300 functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycle uses real-time electrical stimulation (E-stim) to increase strength and muscle production.

E-stim cycling operates like a stationary exercise bike that logs your progress and assists muscles lacking voluntary activity.  The E-stim cycle rehabilitates muscles with electrical currents which stimulate nerves. The stimulation causes muscle contractions and helps patients who may not have full use of their leg muscles. This creates patterned movements enabling muscles to work and perform active cycling despite loss of voluntary control.  To begin the therapy, a therapist places surface electrodes from the bike on particular muscle groups such as hamstrings and calf muscles. The patient pedals the bike to the best of their ability while the electrodes stimulate the muscle groups that will benefit the most from strengthening.  Depending on performance, all settings can be adjusted while a patient is exercising on the bike.  The machine also provides children psychological benefits such as motivation and encouragement through visual feedback from the display screen. The patients perform better when they are watching an onscreen progress report.

Ranken Jordan therapists use the RT300 cycle as part of a comprehensive treatment and therapy plan.  Each E-stim therapy patient is carefully evaluated according to diagnosis and severity of injury or disease.  The exercise cycle is used once or twice a week, along with other treatment interventions. The RT 300 therapy cycle serves three groups of patients:  inpatients, day-treatment patients and outpatients. The electrical muscle stimulation treatment can be used on patients as young as toddlers and also used on adults. The minimum height requirement is 35 inches. Conditions for therapy include several neurological conditions such as brain injury, cerebral palsy, leukodystrophy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, spina bifida, stroke, transverse myelitis and spinal muscular atrophy.  The RT300 also may be used on patients with lower extremity orthopedic injuries or surgeries.

To create an effective therapy treatment, the therapist decides what level of electrical stimulation should be given, the appropriate resistance and the duration of exercise time. The overall physical benefits of the new machine include: stronger muscles; improved range of motion; endurance; larger muscle mass; bone density and increased circulation.

Two of Ranken Jordan’s physical therapists, Anita Shah and Jamie Kocher, work with patients who use the RT 300 cycle for E-stim therapy. Both therapists praised the advantages of the new cycle.   “It offers variety and creativity for therapy sessions and parents are impressed with higher technology,” said Kocher.  “E-stim is tolerable for the majority of patients and we easily can adjust the E-stim setting.” Shah likes the patient-size flexibility of the cycle and accuracy of the progress reports. “We have a variety of patients who can use the bike and we are able to track their progress more objectively with an internet-based graphing system,” Shah added.  “The machine is a huge step forward in efficient patient therapy,” said Kocher.  “We have seen significant patient benefits in improved strength, range-of-motion and endurance, while keeping patients motivated and more interested in their personal gains.”

The new RT300 is practical and flexible; a patient in a wheel chair or other chair can easily pedal the cycle. Therapists also can make speed adjustments during sessions.  Earlier-generation cycles were only adult-sized and required patient transportation from a wheelchair to the cycle. Because of pedal design and positioning, earlier versions of the cycle did not allow patients to bend their ankles while exercising. That restriction limited ankle muscle development.  The RT300’s new flexible pedals come in different sizes for pediatric or adult patients and allow maximum ankle movement and muscle growth.