PRF use and one view of its justification.
The following has being distributed by the former Western Orthopedics, of Santa Barbara, CA (WORC). WORC, was a committed user of Post Rehabilitation Fitness©(tm) and its concepts. The article proves what we at PRF have been saying about its flexibility and, why we developed the product based on a sound concept.
Medical Fitness vs. Hot, Cold Packs
For orthopedic injuries, the first thirty days are typically devoted to physical therapy with care focused upon the reduction of pain. Only after the patient is comfortable are "stabilization" exercises initiated to restore the injured area. even in these late stages of rehabilitation, care is focused exclusively upon pain and the injured area.
We now know that the heart and the other large muscles rapidly deteriorate following an injury. Since most of us merely exist on the edge of not being sick, we cannot afford to become even weaker with less tolerance for physical endurance or strength. This is such a critical problem that cost containment for workers' compensation or health care may not be possible without addressing the problem of physical fitness and general conditioning.
As early as 1987, an excellent study compared an aggressive exercise approach with passive physical therapy as reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (258:1763-67). The authors found that sixty-one percent of the conventional therapy group failed to return to work in ten weeks (70 days), needed about 16 doctor visits and twelve percent were reinjured.
In contrast, patients in the exercised group had a much different outcome. Eighty five percent returned to work in less than ten weeks, needed one half the medical care for the same injury and required seventy five percent fewer office visits.
More recent support for medical fitness was published in December
of 1994 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To prepare the report a panel of physicians reviewed 3,918 selected research articles dealing with the treatment of acute low back pain.
It appears that the use of passive therapy and stabilization, while providing temporary pain relief, takes longer, doesn't work as well, costs more, and leads to more new injuries than the use of an aggressive medical fitness program.
Our clinical results replicate the controlled studies reported in the literature. In thirty cases treated with the medical fitness approach, every employee returned to work in less than thirty days, with a positive attitude. Twenty seven are continuing to exercise on their own with no new injuries or need for medical care. As one patient stated, "when I first started, all I could think of was trying not to hurt myself again. Now I'm afraid that if I stop the exercises I'll just go backward and lose all I've gained."
These results have significant implications for those working to control medical utilization. Why prescribe drugs when medical fitness works as well with less chance of new injuries? Consider the benefits for your patients or clients when they are ready for post rehabilitation fitness. When your clients are released from your care they will be stronger, with better attitudes, and face fewer injuries in the future. (unquote)
We at PRF could not agree more! Post Rehabilitation Fitness©(tm), the answer you have been looking for.
What works vs. What doesn't work