Page 29 - Mobility Management, June 2017

“We look at our bikes as a rehab therapy tool as opposed to just a bike, so we try to always make sure we are working on them respectfully and with the utmost professionalism,” Vanstraelen said. “We are trying to make sure that the families, through the dealers or the therapists, understand all the opportunities within the product, not just exercise and mobility but also socially and other tremendous amount of benefits.”
Proving that the product is a medical device that has obvious benefits to the rider is something that Freedom Concepts will never give up on. In a recent study1 done by the University of Michigan, researchers found that riders between eight and 14 with cerebral palsy, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) Levels IV and V, were excited to be involved in a school activity
that allowed them to be independently mobile. One of the subjects even demonstrated a significant change in cardiorespiratory fitness.
“A lot of these kiddos and adults [use wheelchairs for mobility], but because riding is a non-weight bearing activity we know that we can get 95 if not 98 percent of people riding,” Vanstraelen said. “We have witnessed it before when a rider has never weight beared before, but is now physically pedaling the bike.”
Rewarding Business
We all remember our first time on a bike. It is exhilarating. The wind whistles past your ears and the ground becomes a blur as it moves quickly beneath you. It’s an experience everyone should have, and Freedom Concepts is trying to come close to completing that mission.
“We definitely want to continue to provide features that are life-changing,” Vanstraelen said. “And allow for even the most complex rehab kids and adults to experience riding.” m
— Sydny Shepard
1 A school-based intervention to improve fitness
and function in severe cerebral palsy: A pilot study http://www.freedomconcepts.com/wp-content/ uploads/2017/01/Bike-Study-Poster-Final_1007_2016.pdf
advertisers’ index
Company Name
Page #
Abilities Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Amysystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
23 .11 . .7 31 32 13 . .3
Columbia Medical/Inspired by Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Convaid/R82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ki Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Max Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Permobil/TiLite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PINDOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pride Mobility Products/Quantum Rehab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . StealthProducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 SunriseMedical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 SymmetricDesigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
MobilityMgmt.com MOBILITY MANAGEMENT | JUNE 2017 29