Notes from Our Multiple Sclerosis Bootcamp – Putting Our Neubie® to Work

Nov 3, 2021

Day in and day out, we feel so privileged to do what we do. Working with patients to help them recover faster and more fully from injury or surgery and helping athletes and sport teams maintain or recover their optimal performance is truly special. 

From time to time, we have opportunities to do some extra special work. Recently we had just this kind of opportunity when we hosted a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) boot camp. Six patients diagnosed with MS traveled to our Austin clinic to participate. NeuFit® physical therapists, Dr. Laura Davis and Dr. Mandy Jacques, worked closely with these patients to help them regain lost function, increase their strength and improve overall quality of life. 

When we run a boot camp it is an opportunity to work more extensively with patients over a few days. We keep the number of patients low so we can provide as much time as possible to their treatment. The progress that we can make together can simply be remarkable.  This week we’d like to share some of the feedback from Dr. Laura and two of her patients and next week we will hear from Dr. Mandy. (Please note that we’ve changed the names of our patients to protect their confidentiality.)

Introducing John 

John was diagnosed with MS four years ago but believes his symptoms started about six years ago. While he is strong, his ability to work is impaired by his spasticity. He also has weakness in his right arm and hand. The major focus of our weekend was lessening John’s spasticity and improving his hand and arm function.  

Dr. Laura’s Notes

We were successful in significantly improving John’s walking. In his words, “my legs are flying!”. We were also able to decrease the overall tightness and spasticity in his legs and he was able to flex his hips independently for the first time in years.  His wife reports that even the next morning he could still do this. He improved his grip strength after just five minutes of exercises with the electric glove on his hand. 

John’s Feedback

  • “I haven’t felt this aligned in years.”
  • “This is crazy, we just worked on my arm this morning and I feel everything is more balanced.”
  • “This is the best I have ever felt after a PT treatment.”
  • “I have tried many different things to address my MS and this is the best hope for my recovery and revival of my abilities that I have ever had.” 
  • “I have made so much progress in three days, I can only imagine how much better I am going to be doing if I stick to this protocol. So, in short, Neubie = New Hope and New Life. Thank you, Dr. Laura. “

Introducing Nancy

We also had the pleasure of working with Nancy who was diagnosed with MS in 2010 and then noticed a significant decline about three years ago. She now primarily uses a wheelchair for mobility because she experiences a lot of spasticity which makes it hard for her to move in certain ways. Nancy was recently introduced to the Neubie® electrical stimulation device and wanted to come out for the intensive weekend. 

Dr. Laura’s Notes

Over the course of three days, we did glove work on her arms and lower leg. We worked on stretching her hips and hamstrings and performed strengthening and coordination exercises using the electric glove on her hand.  We also worked on functional activities including sit-to-stands, transfers and core strengthening/balance and, of course, we let her experience the foot bath! 

We saw improved hand movement in both function and strength, decreased tightness in her legs, and improved form and ease in her sit-to-stands. We even got Nancy to drink water and stay hydrated which is so important when using the Neubie device! 

Nancy’s Feedback

  • “Thank you so much for an amazing weekend at the MS Bootcamp! I am so thankful and grateful I was invited and was able to attend.” 
  • “My MS journey has been unpredictable, but I am glad to have an amazing team. I can’t wait to start working with my new BFFs (the Neubie device, magic glove, and sock).” 
  • “I enjoyed meeting new people, sharing my journey, and learning that I am not alone. Laura, you are amazing! I enjoyed spending time with you and thankful you were able to get me to drink water! I am so thankful for you going on this journey with me!”

In next week’s blog, we’ll share some more patient and physical therapist notes from our bootcamp. 

We are so proud of our patients (and our amazing care team) for the results they achieved over the course of our time together! 

Let’s charge forward to better outcomes together!