Rehabilitation of patients with thoracic spine injury treated by spring alloplasty

Abstract

Stabilization of the traumatic injured spine by means of springs, called spring alloplasty, was introduced into clinical practice by Weiss in 1965 and has been applied in the Warsaw Medical Academy Rehabilitation Clinic (Konstancin [Poland]) ever since. The springs replace the damaged system of posterior ligaments of the spine, restoring its stability and alleviating the front (often damaged) part of the body. This method has been used in surgery on about 350 patients mainly with spinal injury in the thoracic and thoracolumbar levels. Spine stabilization by this method usually enables an early verticalization and an active rehabilitation. Verticalization of the patient in a specially designed bed is introduced as early as a few days after the accident, and attempts at active verticalization are made 2-3 wk after surgery. The rehabilitation process is substantially quickened and the period of hospital treatment is significantly reduced. Rehabilitation methodology is presented and functional effects of the treatment are discussed.