Tibion Bionic Leg Helping Patients at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation

Feb. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- Allentown, Pennsylvania: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, based in Allentown, PA, recently expanded its use of the Tibion Bionic Leg by offering the rehabilitation option at three outpatient sites – Good Shepherd Physical Therapy-East Greenville, Good Shepherd Physical Therapy-Palmerton and Outpatient Neurorehabilitation at the Health & Technology Center in Allentown.

The Tibion Bionic Leg uses robotics to help patients regain movement and function in a leg impacted by a stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), an orthopedic condition or arthritis.
Research shows that patients with lower limb impairments, who are 5 to 10 years post-stroke, benefit from the use of this robotic technology. For those patients,  walking speed, gait pattern and endurance were improved by using the Tibion Bionic Leg in therapy.

The robotic leg provides sensor-based assistance and resistance to the affected leg to match the capabilities of the unaffected leg. The Tibion is “intention based,” which means that when a patient applies a force that is pre-set by a therapist, the Bionic Leg turns on a motor that provides the percentage of assistance set by the therapist. This provides “training” for the stance phase of gait (when the patient stands on the affected leg during walking).

   The therapists who work with the Tibion Bionic Leg are specially trained in using rehabilitation technologies to help patients regain function as quickly as possible.

   Patients who have weakness in one leg and are having trouble walking can be evaluated for Tibion Bionic Leg therapy at the following locations:
•    Good Shepherd Physical Therapy-East Greenville, 622 Gravel Pike, Suite 110, East Greenville, PA 18041. Call 215-679-4105.
•   Good Shepherd Physical Therapy-Palmerton, 3295 Forest Inn Road, Palmerton, PA 18071. Call 610-824-7440.
•   Good Shepherd’s Outpatient Neurorehabilitation Department, Health & Technology Center, 850 S. Fifth Street, Allentown, PA 18103. Call 610-776-3247.
For more information, visit www.GoodShepherdRehab.org/tibion.

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Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a nationally recognized rehabilitation leader, offering a continuum of care for people with physical and cognitive disabilities and specializing in assistive and rehabilitation technology. More than 62,000 people come to Good Shepherd each year for specialized programs in stroke, orthopedics, brain injury, spinal cord injury, pediatrics, amputation and more. Good Shepherd provides rehabilitation services in 8 eastern Pennsylvania counties. Good Shepherd operates 21 outpatient sites, 4 inpatient sites, a long-term acute care hospital, 2 long-term care homes for people with severe disabilities, an independent living facility, a Work Services division that provides employment training and job placement and a lifestyle products online store called Rehability. Good Shepherd was founded in 1908. For more information, visit www.GoodShepherdRehab.org.