How to avoid compensatory movements with the ArmeoSpring Pro

Our partner Hocoma have shared a Tips and Tricks video series introducing the ArmeoSpring Pro and sharing expert insights, clever hacks and hands-on guidance to optimise your ArmeoSpring Pro sessions.

This week focuses on compensatory movements, and how the ArmeoSpring Pro can help reduce this occurring during upper limb rehabilitation.

The ArmeoSpring Pro is the latest upper limb exoskeleton from Hocoma. Its customisable arm weight support, powered by patented TrueG technology, allows patients to receive precise arm weight support from shoulder extension to shoulder flexion. Patients perform a high number of repetitions of grasp and reach movements, taking their therapy to the next level.

What are compensations?

Patients may face hurdles in achieving certain movements due to muscle activity restrictions. This can spark compensatory actions leading to secondary issues, including pain. Compensatory movements, while initially adaptive, can inadvertently trigger discomfort. It’s crucial to address these issues to ensure holistic well-being of the patient.​

How can you avoid compensations?

1. Adapt the training region

The ArmeoControl Software offers the possibility to adapt the training region strategically to prevent patients from reaching the point of compensation. This means that the targets will remain within the specified area determined by the therapists and will not appear beyond it.

2. Use the Armeo Support Harness

The Armeo Support Harness can be used to restrict compensatory movements of the upper limb.​

The state-of-the-art solution for upper limb therapy

• Customisable exoskeleton from paediatric patients to adult. The ArmeoSpring Pro enables training of the entire movement chain from the shoulder to the hand. It’s exoskeleton facilitates personalised therapy by allowing therapists to block specific joints and focus on selective movements.
• Motivating exercises. Game-like Augmented Performance Feedback and Virtual Reality exercises motivate to train actively core movement patterns that are commonly used in activities of daily living.
• Increased efficiency. The ArmeoSpring Pro facilitates increased therapy efficiency by reducing the therapist’s physical effort and the need for continuous therapeutic guidance.
• One device to support various therapy goals. ArmeoControl allows therapists to create a therapy plan tailored to the patients’ therapy goals. Therapy goals include cognitive training, increase range of motion in 1D, 2D, or 3D and further.
• Making patient progress visible. The reports provided by ArmeoSpring Pro include patient’s performance during the joint ROM and reaching workspace assessments. The reports allow tracking patient’s progress over time.
• Armeo Support Harness. The ArmeoSpring Pro comes with the Armeo Support Harness intended to restrict compensatory trunk movements during the therapy.

About Summit Medical and Scientific

Summit Medical and Scientific are passionate about the power of rehabilitation technology.

We represent clinical technology leaders Hocoma, Motek and Life Science Robotics to provide the total solution for rehabilitation in the UK. Our partners have developed innovative therapy devices using robotics, sensors and virtual reality for early and acute rehabilitation, gait and balance therapy, arm and hand therapy, body weight support and more. View all of our clinical solutions here.

Get in touch with Summit Medical and Scientific today to find out more about incorporating state-of-the-art rehabilitation technology into your practice. You can contact us via email, by phone (01372 459863) or our contact form.

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