rehabilitation Derek Jones rehabilitation Derek Jones

Pitfalls in measuring healthcare outcomes

This article discusses how to counter Goodhart's Law in healthcare, focusing on quality metrics and patient outcomes. You might not have heard of Goodhart's Law, but it describes an extremely common tendency that has almost certainly affected us all at some point.
The temptation with complex services such as healthcare, is to focus on some simple metric that might reflect overall performance. Unfortunately this often results in misrepresenting the true performance of the system.
This article offers strategies to balance care quality with quantitative measures, enhancing rehabilitation services.

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Pressure Ulcers, PRAFO Derek Jones Pressure Ulcers, PRAFO Derek Jones

Combatting Pressure Ulcers: Stop the Pressure Week is here

The STOP Pressure Week (13-17 Nov) initiative aims to combat pressure ulcers by emphasising the significance of 'Every Contact Counts'. In this article, we aim to raise awareness and take proactive measures to safeguard individuals at risk, with a specific focus on preventing heel pressure ulcers. Additionally, we will delve into the discussion of the PRAFO range of devices, which play a pivotal role in both prevention and treatment.

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FES Cycling: How it elevates rehabilitation and fitness with 5 extraordinary benefits

Discover the revolutionary FES Cycling systems by Anatomical Concepts. Improve mobility and overall health post neurological condition with electrical muscle stimulation. Explore the top five benefits of FES bikes in this informative post.

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Dementia, Grip Derek Jones Dementia, Grip Derek Jones

Curious Facts About Dementia and Handgrip Strength

At Anatomical Concepts, we are getting to grips with the Carbonhand again, so we have been delving into the research literature and sorting through the significant, curious and sometimes serious, facts to do with grip strength and human function. We don’t often write about Dementia but it is one of the conditions that shortens lives and seriously affects healthspan so we certainly don’t doubt it’s importance as a topic.

In Dr Peter Attia's excellent book, "Outlive", he mentions a recent study (by Irene Esteban-Cornejo et al, 2022) looking at nearly half a million patients in the UK which found that grip strength, which is strongly correlated with overall strength and indeed lifespan, was inversely associated with the incidence of dementia. These are findings are from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study.

People with the weakest grip had a 72% higher incidence of dementia compared to those in the top quartile for grip strength (the strongest).

What do we make of this?

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PRAFO, Orthotic Derek Jones PRAFO, Orthotic Derek Jones

A Genuine Prafo Ankle Foot Orthosis is the Best Option for Your Foot and Ankle Support

In this article, we'll explore the benefits of choosing a genuine PRAFO AFO for your foot and ankle support needs, and why it's the best choice for those seeking the highest level of effectiveness.

Orthotists often confront situations that require quick and confident action and an off-the-shelf solution to common heel, foot and ankle issues. It might be for heel pressure ulcer prevention or treatment with a vulnerable patient - perhaps following a hip fracture, with diabetic foot disease or post-stroke.

With so many different product options on the market, it can be overwhelming trying to determine which one is best for you. However, if you're looking for a high-quality ankle foot orthosis (AFO) that instantly provides the ultimate heel and foot protection and support whether the patient is ambulant or recumbent, you can't go wrong with a genuine PRAFO ankle foot orthosis (AFO). But what do we mean by a genuine PRAFO? Well, there is only one source of these.

PRAFO AFOs have been designed by experienced orthotists since 1990 to fit the clinical and biomechanical requirements of practising orthotists; providing unmatched protection and stability to the foot and ankle complex. PRAFO AFOs are a reliable option giving many of the benefits of a custom solution with off-the-shelf products.

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Electrotherapy and wound healing - Part 2

In the first article in this series, we introduced the idea of using electrotherapy for wound healing. It’s perhaps not the first approach clinicians think of but we feel it is a legitimate approach and worth considering; especially when other approaches are not proving to be effective. In this article we look at what is known and unknown about this approach. We then look at spinal cord injury and treatment of pressure ulcers in this population. We give an example fo using a Hasomed RehaMove unit with Sequence Mode and a RISE unit to support this application.

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