Total
Credit for this report goes to
Euro Med
Rehabilitation Center
The
Cerebral Palsy Network does not support one therapy for these
"suits" over another we only choose to provide information
about the suits available allowing you the consumer to decide which will
best suite your needs.
The prototype of the "Adeli"
Suit - was developed in 1971 by the Russian Center for Aeronautical and
Space Medicine to prevent hypo kinesis in cosmonauts who are exposed to
prolongated weightless conditions. Since 1992 this revolutionary and
innovative device has proven to be successful in medical application in
rehabilitating patients with cerebral palsy, brain trauma and various
neuromuscular disorders.
What do
researchers say?
Long term research has been carried out by the Russian Federation
Academy of Medical Sciences. Further research has been performed in
Poland, France, Italy and the USA. Research studies confirm that
patients exhibit improved brain-to-muscle communication through
increased blood flow to the brain and central artery, increased
bio-electrical functions of the muscles (EMG
readings), increased activity in the brain cortex
(EEG
readings), increased bone calcification, decreased ataxia
(lack
of coordination) and a decrease in the intensity of dysarthia (speech
fluency disorder). With Adeli Suit therapy new elements of
stability occur, the lack of coordination decreases and speech
articulation improves.
What can the equipment do?
The Adeli Suit provides an additional vertical load of 30 to 80 pounds
resulting in increased vestibular dynamic prioprioceptive correction.
The result is a correction of prioprioceptive impulses which advance
from joints, muscles and ligaments to the central nervous system. The
weakening of incorrect pathological responses and a gradual
normalization achieved by increasing prioprioceptivity results in
creating new pathological connections and reflexes in a relatively short
amount of time. The Adeli Suit also serves as a corrective exo-skeleton
that supports the body in anatomically correct positions. The Adeli Suit
Method results in a certain normalization of the locomotive and motor
actions of the patient's trunk and lower limbs.
How is the equipment built and how does it
work?
The Adeli Suit consists of a vest, shorts, knee pads and specially
adapted shoes with hooks and elastic cords that help tell the body how
it is supposed to move in space. Therapists use the Adeli Suit to hold
the body in proper physical alignment. During specialized exercises, the
therapists adjust the elastic connectors that topographically mirror
flexor and extensor muscles, trunk rotators and the lower limbs.
Additional attachments correcting the position of the feet, head and
other areas of the body have also been designed. A patient, while
wearing the Adeli Suit goes through various exercises including
"how to walk". The Suit works as an elastic frame surrounding
the body and does not limit the amplitude of movement but adds an
additional weight load on it within designed limits.
