Introducing Tailwind
Here you can learn about Tailwind™, a unique device that clinical studies have
demonstrated can permanently improve arm movement in stroke patients who
have lost upper extremity function - even years after their stroke event. The device is also helpful in improving arm function following brain injury, tumor and cerebral palsy. Tailwind is
a home-based exercise device developed by researchers at
the University of Maryland Medical School.
Effective for Stroke Survivors
Tailwind consists of two handles that move along independent
resistance-free tracks. The user moves the handles along each track
from different starting marks - and has auditory cues to guide when to
move his or
her arms. It is a "sound-to-brain" neural pathway retraining approach
that is theorised to help users with mild stroke symptoms achieve
life-altering results.
First of a Kind for Stroke
Tailwind has been demonstrated in clinical studies to permanently improve arm movement in stroke patients who have lost upper extremity function. In published
clinical studies, the science behind Tailwind was found to be a potentially useful solution in stroke rehabilitation.
So don't let discouragement from years of rehab that did not deliver the results you wanted prevent you from trying new Tailwind. If you have the motivation
to work with this device, research suggests it will work for you.
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Rehabilitation
in your own hands
Fast food link to stroke rates
FAST FOOD restaurants are directly associated with higher stroke rates in their neighbourhood, research has shown. Scientists found that the risk of stroke depended on how many takeaways operated in an area. Residents of districts with the most fast-food outlets were 13 per cent more likely to suffer strokes than people living in localities with the fewest.
The relative risk of stroke increased by one per
cent for each additional fast-food restaurant in a neighbourhood, the
US researchers discovered.
The findings held true after
statistical adjustments to take account of local population
characteristics and socio-economic factors.
However, the researchers said the results did not prove that fast-food restaurants were causing strokes.
Study
leader Professor Lewis Morgenstern, from the University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor, said: "The data shows a true association.
"What we
don't know is whether fast food actually increased the risk because of
its contents, or whether fast-food restaurants are a marker of
unhealthy neighbourhoods."
The link between takeaways and stroke rates emerged from an ongoing investigation of strokes in Nueces County, Texas.
Researchers looked at 1247 strokes recorded over a three-year period after the start of the study in 2000.
Nueces
County has 262 fast-food restaurants, defined by the scientists as
having at least two of four characteristics: rapid food service,
take-out business, few or no waiter staff, and payment required before
the food is served.
The team used a census map to split the county up into 64 zones, providing proxies for neighbourhoods.
A
count was taken of fast-food outlets in each zone, and the localities
were then grouped into four brackets according to restaurant numbers.
Districts with fewer than 12 fast-food restaurants were in the "lowest" group and those with more than 33 in the "highest".
Prof
Morgenstern said the association between fast-food restaurants and
stroke risk should be further investigated in other areas.
"We
need to start unravelling why these particular communities have higher
stroke risks," he said. "Is it direct consumption of fast food? Is it
the lack of more healthy options? Is there something completely
different in these neighbourhoods that is associated with poor health?"
The findings were presented at the International Stroke
Conference organised by the American Stroke Association in San Diego,
California.
Strokes occur when the brain is damaged by a loss of blood supply due to a blockage or leak.
An estimated 150,000 people suffer strokes each year in the UK, more than 67,000 of whom die. More than 300,000 Britons are living with moderate to severe disabilities caused by strokes, which incur a direct cost to the NHS estimated at £2.8 billion a year.