Strong and Vital No 4
Life time
Active Device-Supported Physiotherapy - Especially in Old Age – Is a Successful Model
Why «Aktiv Physio»? We run two physiotherapy practices in Switzerland, Hinwil and Pfäffikon (canton Zurich), with a total of 26 employees. Our approach to therapy is - as the name «Aktiv Physio» sug gests - an active one whenever possible. The aim is to get pati ents’ problems under control in the long term, which in many cases means «helping them to help themselves». This requires a suitable training infrastruc ture. While in Pfäffikon we are in the same premises as the region’s leading fitness cen tre and use its infrastructure, in Hinwil we run our own small but excellent gym. The Right Infrastructure It has state of the art equip ment from the industry leader Technogym. The basis consists of strength and endurance
exercisers, which in turn has a positive effect on motivation and training success. Strength measurements can also be taken at any time on any device, making training progress visible and tangible. Therapy and training are adap ted accordingly based on the development of this measure ment data. Scepticism towards Gyms In the rural area in which we operate, we have found that many older people are very sceptical about equipment based training. There is some thing strange about a fitness centre (gyms) and sometimes it almost seems a little suspi cious. When the therapist then takes clients to the training area, they often think that the «stuff» there is superfluous.
equipment, which can be individually programmed to the needs of the customer. All equipment settings such as sitting and support positions as well as the range of motion are precisely matched to the phy siological characteristics of the patient, programmed and saved by the physiotherapist. These parameters are then reliably and precisely adjusted individually and automatically for each training session using controlled electric motors. In this way, we ensure that one works optimally and safely during every training session on every Biocircuit device. It is particularly important for older people to be able to exercise safely, in a controlled manner and as intended at all times. This minimises the risk of injury and at the same time reduces uncertainty among
This is especially true as they get enough exercise every day and also work in the garden, clean and do the housework. To make things a little easier for this group of peo ple in particular, we deliberately avoid loud or even aggressive music, only have as much mirrored space in the training rooms as is necessary for physiothe rapy and no customers in muscle shirts with gold chains and baseball caps worn back to front. We focus on a family atmosphere and try to impress with our calm expertise, but this does not mean that we are always deadly serious.
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STRONG and VITAL No. 4 - 2024
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