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Dr. Richard M. Hemphill of Ellicott City, Maryland, doesn't plan to slow
down anytime soon. While Dr. Hemphill used a prosthesis ten years, for
the past five years he has used crutches exclusively. In 1994 he went to
Reno to get a pair of SCBU crutches. He describes the HOPE Crutch as "The
best crutch I've ever had. I've used them to walk three to five miles a
day with my wife. They are more stable and provide better balance because
the upright nature allows for better tip/surface contact. This is very
important on wet or slippery surfaces. And I ought to know, having broken
my ribs on two different occasions in my early days of crutch use. With
the HOPE Crutch, I no longer have arm dislocation problems and I'm not
wearing out clothes and coats like I did in the past. I think people will
benefit from what CareBorne has done."
Don Warner, a 6 foot, 5 inch, second-year amputee in Eugene, Oregon, first discovered the SCBU crutch at Oregon State University, where he serves on the Board of Directors. Don said, "The HOPE Crutch is fantastic! It provides much better support and balance with no underarm irritation."
In September of 1994, Marsha Strickland of Sulphur, Louisiana, lost her leg in a motorcycle accident. A little over a year later, in December of 1995, she received a pair of SCBU crutches. Marsha says the recuperating months between amputation and being able to use a prosthesis are the most difficult. Marsha tells of the frustration she and other amputees encounter when trying to explain to their medical professionals the pain and suffering they endure with regular crutches during the recuperative period. They feel their doctors aren't hearing them because there is little comfort in the stock answers, "Crutches are difficult to use. You'll have to tough it out. There is no alternative." Marsha states, "Now there is an alternative! I have fallen and slipped with the regular crutches. They are dangerous. Ever since I have had the HOPE Crutch, I have not fallen or slipped. I'm also surprised by the speed in which I can move with the crutches. Freedom and security are what they give me. They have helped my quality of life."
Many amputees interviewed,
such as Jack Wagner, an accountant in Champaign, Illinois, credit the SCBU
for making a big improvement in balance, as well as providing a much smoother
transition from one step to the next.
Excerpt
from:
Bill Dickerson insists he's not in it for the money. He
just wants to offer a helping hand -- or in this case, a better crutch.
"With all the advances and technology, no one had really
improved the crutch," said Dickerson, president of CareBorne Inc., a research,
design and engineering company based in Reno.
"It really hadn't changed since the Middle Ages. Even
on the Egyptian pyramids, there are pictures of people leaning on sticks,"
he said.
Some of his biggest fans so far are the elderly, who fear
the instability of tradtional crutches, and big-time athletes, who are
too tall or weigh too much for the typical crutch.
Athletic trainers in the NFL, NBA and 100 collegiate teams
across the country are especially fond of one version with a stabilizer
bar behind the shoulder and a whole new curvy design.
Dickerson, until recently a successful businessman in
the commercial printing industry, said his only personal experience with
crutches was a bad one.
They slipped. They rubbed under his arms. They wore him
out after just a half-block of walking. He suspected others suffered as
well.
"We surveyed 300 physical ther-apists and 140 nurses and
found no one was really pleased with the crutch," he said.
"The reason we did this was there was a need."
Dickerson said major medical suppliers hadn't invested
much time in such research because there wasn't any money to be made.
"A crutch is a crutch is a crutch. It's not a big part
of their busi-ness,'' he said.
He said he had a leg up in his own research thanks to
his old doctor buddies at the Rotary Club in Warsaw, Ind., "the orthopedic
capital of the world."
With their encouragement, he started studying the crutch,
watching hour after hour of slowmotion videotapes. What he found was a
tool that bred instability and inefficiency because of the way the crutch
is designed to be used -- with elbows bent and the tips pointed slightly
away from the body.
"It's simply basic physics," he said. "You use about 78
percent more energy than a regular walk."
The result over the past three years has been the invention
of two new crutch types:
The Stabilizer crutch, with a stabilizing bar raising
up in the back to form an "L" in the top where the traditional crutch was
flat
The Hope crutch, a single pole with a bent "U" and ergonomically
designed hand grips for big hands that won't fit in a traditional crutch
"That's the big crooked one," said Jeff Monroe, head football
trainer at Michigan State University.
MSU started ordering the crutches four or five years ago.
Traditional crutches just aren't big enough for today's modern athletes,
he said.
"These kids are routinely 300 pounds, 6-foot-6. If they
get a knee injury they may have to be on crutches for six weeks," he said.
The high piece on the back of the crutch is safer and
more comfortable, Monroe said from East Lansing, Mich.
"You have to remember, in my population of student athletes
18 to 22 years old, they are pretty aggressive, active people. They don't
like to do things carefully," he said.
"If I try to teach them to walk on crutches, they can
take like a three-minute lecture, and then they are ready to go," he said.
The University of Nevada-Reno were among the early guinea
pigs for the new crutches.
During early experiments, Dickerson said he would challenge
ath-letes at the school track to a race -- he with the new crutches and
they with the traditional ones.
"I found I could race young ath-letes on crutches, and
a 50-year-old man could beat them," he said.
Even the state attorney general is a fan.
"I think he's really got something," Nevada Attorney General
Frankie Sue Del Papa said in a recent interview.
Del Papa tried them out after she broke her leg roller
skating.
"I tried the regular crutches with the flat top but these
are much more comfortable," she said.
"Now I go up to people in air-ports and ask how long they
are going to be on crutches. I tell them if it is long, it is really worthwhile
to get a pair of these crutches."
Article courtesy of The New York Times, August 7, 2000
| Mitchell's
Knee Sprain Puts
Giants in Tight Spot By RAFAEL HERMOSO The
worst-case scenario that quarterback Kerry Collins and the Giants' coaching
staff feared Saturday night did not materialize yesterday. Tests on Pete
Mitchell did not reveal a season-ending injury, but the Giants' only experienced
pass-catchhing tight end will be out of action for the Sept. 3 opener against
the Arizona Cardinals, and possibly
Mitchell
severely sprained his left knee in the Giants' 20-8 loss to the Bears on
Saturday at Giants Stadium, An M.R.I. yesterday ruled out a torn
anterior cruciate ligament, an Injury that would have ended Mitchell's
season.
"I would say right now the only procedure that would be under consideration would be a scope," Fassel said in a conference call, referring to possible arthroscopic surgery. Such a procedure would be used partly to examine the knee, but Fassel did not believe it would reveal further damage that would require a more serious operation. With little depth, the Giants dreaded any type of injury Saturday. But while Fassel maintained he was pleased with the first-team offense's ability to drive the field in the first half despite not scoring a touchdown, he was less optimistic when it came to replacing Mitchell. That injury could have a harrowing domino effect on the rest of the offense. As the only proven pass catcher among the team's tight ends, Mitchell was a key component to the Giants' revamped offense under the new coordinator, Sean Payton. Fassel said Mitchell's injury would not scale back the Giants' ambitious plans of opening up the passing game. "There'Il just be another guy doing it," Fassel said. "As far as dropping anything, no." Fassel discussed different candidates to fill Mitchell's role temporarily, and said he did not anticipate searching outside the organization unless "1 get some surprising news" today. Fassel did not even mention Howard Cross, the starting tight end, because Cross is used strictly as a blocker. Beyond Cross, the options on the team are running back Sean Bennett, tight end Dan Campbell and wide receiver Joe Jurevicius. Based on their resumes alone, they are not ideal replacements. Bennett, a second-year back, has never played tight end. He has been learning the role in practice and the Giants planned to use him more as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Campbell, Mitchell's backup, has never caught a pass in two professional seasons. Jurevicius is the team's third receiver and would need to be replaced there if he saw time at tight end. The rookie Ron Dixon would then be elevated from the fourth string. It's understandable why Collins fretted after seeing Mitchell on crutches Along the sideline Saturday. Collins, who hopes to benefit from the Giants' plans to loosen their offense, said Saturday it would be a blow to lose Mitchell for the season. EXTRA
POINTS
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Prices: amputees receive priority in orders the
HOPE Crutch ($118) or the Stabilizer ($92). To order click
here, or for more information, call 1-800-998-2263