Independence comes in many forms.
For many it is the freedom to “age in place” at home or go about daily activities without assistance following an illness, accident, or surgery.
Physical therapy and rehabilitation often begin in the acute care environment but continue after a patient is discharged. It is not surprising then that rehabilitation centers are popping up everywhere to help aging baby boomers and those with medical conditions maintain their independence.
With the outpatient rehabilitation center market projected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 6% 1 between 2022 and 2027, it is important to consider exactly what equipment is needed to prepare a rehabilitation center for positive patient outcomes.
Check List of Must Have Rehabilitation Equipment
With an eye to cost containment, it is best to select multi-use gym equipment, such as upright and recumbent stationary bikes, to maximize treatment options. Other multi-use gym equipment includes physical therapy furniture:
Elliptical machines, treadmills, and rowing machines are also multi-use supporting cardiac, shoulder, knee, and hip rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation gym equipment is often what catches the eye in a rehabilitation center. However, the following exercise equipment is equally vital to effective treatment plans:
- hand exercisers
- resistance bands
- exercise balls and balance equipment
- hand weights
- cuff weights
- pulley systems
At first glance much of the rehabilitation exercise equipment listed looks like the standard fare for fitness centers and gyms. But looks can be deceiving.
Gym Equipment vs Rehab Gym Equipment
As a rule, rehabilitation equipment offers broader access points, wheelchair accessibility, more handles, and sturdy grip bars to accommodate the restricted range of motion experienced by rehab patients.
Compared to the standard exercise equipment used by healthier members of our population, rehabilitation physical therapy equipment features slower speeds and more program options, braille, or larger screen sizes for clients with vision difficulties and louder notification tones for those who are hard of hearing.
Assistive Devices and Adaptive Equipment
The goal of physical therapy in rehabilitation is to strengthen the body. But it is essential that assistive devices such as walkers, canes, and wheelchairs be available to patients while they rebuild lost strength.
Rehabilitation is not limited to Physical Therapy. Neurological Rehabilitation, Stroke Rehabilitation, Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injuries, Amputation, and Orthopedics often require Occupational Therapy (OT) in tandem with Physical Therapy to prepare patients for independent living.
OT therapy can include training with assistive devices and adaptive equipment necessary for independent living. Although not an exhaustive list, here are some common types of adaptive equipment:
|
For Dressing |
For Eating |
For Mobility |
For Communication |
|
Dressing sticks |
Non-skid bowl |
Screen Readers |
|
|
Reacher’s |
Plate guard |
Ramps |
Communication Boards |
|
Long-Handled Shoehorn |
Adaptive utensils |
Speech Generating Devices |
|
|
Button Hooks |
Mobile arm supports |
|
|
Take Away
Rehabilitation centers take many forms. They may be private or associated with a hospital. Offer in-patient service, serve ambulatory patients at an outpatient facility, or a combination of both.
Regardless of the form or the location of your Rehabilitation Center, CME is uniquely positioned to help with equipment selection and competitive pricing.
While keeping you on budget, CME will take care of all the logistics, from managing the order process, to set-up and convenient-to-you installation of the equipment.
Challenging geographic logistics? We have that covered.
Brand new construction? We have your back on that too.
Contact or chat with us at cmecorp.com.
It's our pledge to help you procure the best equipment, at the best price, so you can focus on helping patients become as independent as possible following life-changing illnesses, accidents, or surgery.
Read a past CME blog post, A Start-Up Checklist When Building a New Physical Therapy Clinic to learn more about physical therapy equipment.
1. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/united-states-outpatient-rehabilitation-centers-market
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers. With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.
