Prehab to Avoid Rehab

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WASHINGTON, DC (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Rehab heals the body after an injury. But the goal of prehab is to lessen the chance of an injury ever happening; through body analysis, exercises and stretches that are designed to build balance, strength, and flexibility.

For some, Hernan Lucero is a familiar face. This actor in soaps and commercials knows the importance of presentation and posture.

“Things weren’t right and weren’t aligning right,” said Hernan.

Then he discovered “prehab”.

Noam Sadovnik, DC, founder of Clinicube said, “Prehabilitation is really just a concept or philosophy that we’re trying to build into people’s mindset and it primarily has to do with proactive care.”

It uses tools like the ‘optogait’ that evaluate your gait for imbalances. They also use red cord suspension therapy suspending a patient’s entire body in midair.

Sadovnik continued, “And so, there’s no stable foundation for the body to sort of leverage and so what happens when we have you perform those movements in the red cord apparatus is we’re able to very quickly expose any weaknesses, imbalances, or even compensations.”

After battling chronic pain throughout his 20’s, Lucero can now enjoy competitive bike racing with increased range of motion and strength due to prehab exercises. And he’s not the only one.

“I brought my dad in a long time ago to see Dr. Sadovnik. He walked in limping on a cane. He had diabetic neuropathy. And, I said, ‘Hey dad, just try it out, just get on the machine. What’s the worst that could happen?’ He got on the atm. He went through the exercises. He did some movements. He danced out of that office,” said Lucero.

Most insurance companies do not reimburse for prehab. The fees depend on the combination of services, but typically range from 110 dollars and up. Prehab is for anyone of any age, and level of athleticism, that is looking to improve their strength and range of motion.

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Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Supervising Producer; Hayley Hudson, Field Producer; Roque Correa, Editor and Videographer.

 PREHAB TO AVOID REHAB
REPORT #2485

BACKGROUND: Prehabilitation, or “prehab,” is a form of rehabilitation designed to increase one’s ability to function in preparation of an upcoming surgery or other major medical treatment. Prehab interventions are tailored to each individual’s needs following the evaluation of many factors, like the patient’s cancer diagnosis, treatment plan, and any other pre-existing health conditions. It prepares patients for the physical challenges faced following treatment and improves patients’ psychological outcomes. The team at OSF Rehabilitation Services, at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Illinois, is helping patients optimize their outcomes and maintain a desired level of quality of life and well–being. Depending on the patient’s diagnosis and functional limitations, health care teams might recommend interventions such as specific exercises to improve strength and endurance, nutrition counseling, and/or strategies that can help decrease stress prior to the start of treatment.

(Source: https://www.osfhealthcare.org/st-joseph/services/rehabilitation/prehabilitation/)

BENEFITS OF PREHAB:  Prehab exercises expose the body and brain to novel positions, thereby enabling an individual to break out of his/her habitual movements. An athlete becomes more adept at knowing how to react when life or sports throw him/her something new. Prehab movements may also help to even out muscular imbalances, resulting in better posture, improved performance, and more efficient pain -free movement throughout the day. For an athlete whose sports season occurs for a few months per year and then cycles with an off-season, most trainers and athletic coaches are quick to recognize that prehab training does not begin as the season gets underway. In order to be effective, prehab must be started during the pre-season training. The ideal format of exercises should be to encompass elements and drills that are specific to the chosen sport, along with strength training and functional stretching exercises. Heather Moore, PT, DPT, CKTP, provides her patients at Total Performance Physical Therapy in eastern Pennsylvania with prehab prior to undergoing surgeries for rotator cuff repair, ACL repair, total knee and total hip replacement. According to Dr. Moore, “Patients initially are skeptical about it, but then amazed by the speed of their recovery compared with that of people they know who didn’t get prehab before the same surgery.”

(Source: https://www.nfpt.com/blog/foreshadowing-can-prehab-prevent-rehab)

ONGOING RESEARCH: Researchers at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System in Pennsylvania are currently studying frail veterans who are at an increased risk for poor surgical outcomes. As the veteran population continually grows older and more frail, there is a critical need to identify effective strategies for reducing surgical risks for these patients. Prior research shows that inter-disciplinary rehabilitation strategies deployed after surgery enhances recovery and improves outcomes by building strength and nutrition. They believe that similar improvements may be obtained by using similar interventions before surgery to “prehabilitate” patients’ capacity to tolerate the stress of surgery. The proposed research is currently examining the feasibility of a new, prehabilitation intervention aimed at improving post-operative surgical outcomes through pre-operative exercise training and nutritional supplementation. Findings from the study will inform the design of a larger randomized controlled trial of the prehabilitation intervention. If proven effective, prehabilitation could benefit as many as 42,000 frail veterans who are scheduled for major elective surgery each year.

(Source: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03040336)

* For More Information, Contact:

Gary Grasso, Public Relations                                Deanna Colarusso

ggrasso@doctorspr.com                                           CLINICUBE

(626) 698-2213                                                            (646) 770-0916

www.clinicubenyc.com