Mechanisms of Action: Overview

TheraTogs™ orthotic systems are comprised of elasticized undergarments and a selection of straps that can be applied to the body and limbs to help to carry on the effects of a successful therapy session into daily life. The primary premise for deciding whether TheraTogs systems are appropriate for any client is this:

If the clinician or caretaker is able to improve functioning alignment with sensory cueing (touch or pressure) or with unforced manual assistance, then TheraTogs can be used to sustain that change, for training purposes, into daily life.

With this premise in mind, only clients for whom unforced position change is possible are fitted with TheraTogs. Others are referred to appropriate sources offering more rigid alignment aids.

TheraTogs systems offer a viable strategy for enhancing orthopedic development and neuromotor training, as they were developed on the basis of the sciences that operate in human sensorimotor development and function and in longstanding approaches to therapeutic management. The principles inherent in these sciences are interdependent:

• Biomechanics of joint alignment and body weight loading influence movement skill and muscle actions

• Postural control influences movement skill and soft tissue adaptation

• Sensory information influences postural control and movement skill

• Postural control, and bone and muscle development, are influenced by functioning body alignment (biomechanics), and so on.

Sciences and Science-Based Approaches to Rehabilitation

TheraTogs systems offer a viable strategy for enhancing orthopedic development and neuromotor training, as they were developed on the basis the sciences that operate in human sensorimotor development and function and in longstanding approached to therapeutic management. The principles inherent in these sciences are interdependent.

For example, biomechanics of joint alignment and body weight loading influences movement skill and muscle actions; postural control influences movement skill and soft tissue adaptation; sensory information influences postural control and movement skill; postural control and bone and muscle development are influenced by functioning body alignment (biomechanics), and so on.

This discussion pertains to the following sciences and science-based rehabilitation approaches:

Sciences of TheraTogs:

• Biomechanics

• Kinesiology

• Physiologic adaptation of bone and soft tissues to use history

• Postural control

• Somatosensory information processing and modulation

• Neural plasticity: cortical mapping and massed practice

Therapy Approaches Supported by TheraTogs:

• Movement System [Impairment Syndrome] Analysis and Management

• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)

• Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT)

• Perception-Action Approach (P-A) (formerly TAMO – Tscharnuter Akademie for Motor Organization)

• Sensory Integration (SI) Approach