Treatment

The GIGER MD^® Therapy gives new hope for patients with spinal cord lesions, brain injury, brain stroke or other diseases affecting the Central Nervous System (CNS). 
 

Coordination dynamic therapy is the new efficient method for treating patients with lesions or diseases affecting the Central Nervous System (CNS). This method is rehabilitating the CNS, unlike many other methods which affect only the periphery. Moreover the mobility of people with spina bifida can be improved at the same time through the medical device GIGER MD^® with greatest success.

Basis for the GIGER MD^® Therapy

The coordination dynamic therapy is used to treat patients with CNS lesions.

Due to the 4 new developments in human neurophysiology mentioned below, it is possible to reorganize the lesioned or functionally impaired human central nervous system (CNS). The 4 new repair-related concepts are:

1. The CNS is viewed as a neuronal network which organizes itself. The organization can be changed by re-learning.
    
2. The self-organization is based on a relative (specifically changing) phase- and frequency coordination of rhythmically firing sub neuronal networks and single neurons.
    
3. Neurogenesis and functional cell proliferation is induced and controlled by learning. Methods for re-learning basic CNS functions use especially rhythmic, dynamic, coordinated movements (GIGER MD^® medical device).
    
4. It seems from the success in re-learning movements, vegetative and higher mental functions in patients with CNS lesion that the human CNS has a second integrative strategy to learn, re-learn, store and recall network states.
    

Theory of coordination dynamics of the lesioned human CNS and re-learning

The lesioned human CNS can be repaired by re-learning of partially lost phase and frequency coordination through coordinated rhythmic movements. The severely lesioned CNS can only efficiently be repaired if integrative, coordinated functions are re-learned. The re-learning of relative phase and frequency coordination of the lesioned CNS can be achieved by: 

1.     Using the special coordination dynamic therapy device GIGER MD^® which offer exact phase and frequency coordination up to a few milliseconds for re-learning.

2.     The training of automatisms, postures and old learned movements which are only little impaired in their functioning by the lesion.

Rather than asking what is the best method to re-organize the lesioned CNS we should ask what method is most efficient in re-organizing the lesioned CNS by re-learning. The increase of the rate of re-learning is determined by 4 factors:

1. The exactness of the coordination of the performed movements during the therapy, to functionally reconnect disconnected network parts to recouple arms or legs that cannot be moved.
    

2. The increase of the intergrativity of the coordination dynamic therapy, which increases the number and complexity of simultaneously exercised phase and frequency coordinations and makes it possible to re-learn integrative functions such as the higher mental functions.
    

3. The enhancement of the movement induced re-afferent input to strengthen the physiologic self-organization of the lesioned CNS and its communication with the environment.
    
4. The increase of the intensity of the therapy to force the “adaptive machine” CNS to adapt. 

Because of measured phase and frequency coordination in the process of neuronal network organization in man, the theory of coordination dynamics is used for re-learning motor, vegetative, and higher mental functions. The re-learning (repair) is seen as a change of the existing inner coordination dynamics tendencies after the lesion (with no or only pathologic functioning of arms, legs and trunk) to achieve CNS coordination dynamics which will generate again physiologic movements, vegetative and higher mental functions.
 

The change of the coordination dynamics is achieved by the coordination dynamic therapy, especially by the GIGER MD^® medical device.

The improvement of the coordinated movement of an arm, finger or leg can be measured. The improvement of the average coordination dynamics when exercising on the special coordination dynamic therapy device can be used to quantify the improvement of the inner coordination tendencies on the macroscopic level.

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