As rehab professionals you are up to speed on the latest and greatest therapeutic trends, technologies and equipment available.  However, trying to keep up with all those advances and integrating them into your patient workload can sometimes be daunting.  It’s good to know that you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel and that inspiring therapies can come from the most unlikely of sources, as evidenced by the five below:

 

• A Bird in the Hand…: Animal companions have shown great promise in helping people cope with PTSD.  Orphaned parrots have characteristics that make them ideal companions and are often more cost effective than other therapy animals.

 

• Testing the Waters:  Aquatic therapy shows great promise as a low impact, more accessible supplement or replacement for more traditional gait-training methods with stroke victims.

 

• Read From the Same Page:  If “knowledge is king” then reading can be therapeutic.  An OT’s book helps kids with sensory processing disorders feel better understood by themselves and others.

 

• The Wheels Are Turning:  Kids with complex behavioral health issues, such as autism with ADHD, saw significant improvements when given cybercycling sessions as part of their school day.

 

• Life Is a Song-Sing It:  In Australia, non-speaking stroke victims find new voice in a choir enhancing their language therapy.

 

As tech advances push the boundaries of healthcare forward, sometimes innovation finds its roots in low tech.  Whether you are a PT, PTA, OT, COTA or SLP you have the opportunity to innovate and inspire others on a daily basis, and Centra wants to inspire and innovate your career!  Call us today at 800 535 0076