APEX NEURO is one of Europe’s leading neurorehabilitation clinics, specialising in Motor Neurone Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Functional Neurological disorder. They are one of the few clinics in the world to achieve positive results for these conditions. The majority of their clients have neurodegenerative conditions (primarily MND or MS). Before starting with the team at APEX NEURO clients have often been told there is “nothing they can do” to restore lost function.
Many of the clients who attend APEX NEURO have been professional athletes, whose careers have ended due to their diagnosis. Their clients include ex-pro footballers and rugby players. Due to degeneration of the nerves, their ability to control their muscles is impaired. These athletes can therefore no longer engage in sport or training. Commonly, loss of grip strength and lack of hand and finger control is one of the most impactful symptoms. This is especially noticeable when it comes to training, as holding dumbbells or handles on resistance training machines becomes difficult or even impossible. Muscle wastage then occurs faster, as it becomes hard to use the necessary equipment to maintain or rebuild muscle.
“they often have lost hope”
“Before working with us, they often have lost hope, and give up on training altogether, especially as many other practitioners tell them there is nothing they can do to fight against muscle wastage. We have a very different outlook. Using a specific type of electrical stimulation, we help clients begin to regain the control and function of their muscles. This includes specific work on the hands to help regain grip, dexterity, finger movement and sensation. We utilise strength training to help clients rebuild loss strength and muscle.”
The team at APEX NEURO were desperate to find gripping aids that would work well for their clients. They’d previously used grips that were not designed for people with disability or impaired muscle/nerve function. These aids limited what equipment they were able to use with clients. Many of the grip aids were not intended for use in a gym, and were ineffective and often frustrating to use. After many hours of searching, they came across Active Hands! Finding the Active Hands Gym pack was a game-changer for the APEX NEURO team, especially when working with MND clients.
Finding the answer
“The variety of aids, including the d-rings, hooks, loops and [General Purpose] gripping aids has allowed us to utilise all the different kit needed for effective training. We have been able to reintroduce training into our clients lives.
There is so much ingenuity and creativity in the designs, they’ve clearly been designed by someone who understands training equipment. They’re easy to use, versatile, and comfortable – a combination we haven’t found in any other grip aid product. A huge thank you to the creator!”
We asked the team at APEX NEURO if there was anything else they’d like to see a solution to.
“The only thing we would love to see is the option to add a splint into the general purpose gripping aid – often our MND clients have severely impacted wrist weakness, and potentially having a ‘pouch’ and wrist splint to slide in to add optional support would really help.”
We’d like to say a big thank you to the team at APEX NEURO for their feedback and support. It’s always great to hear about the difference our gripping aids make, in rehab, the gym, at home, outdoors – or anywhere!
You can find out more about APEX NEURO and what they do on their website and Instagram.
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