One of the reasons that patients consider chiropractic care is to have long-term and long-lasting results. It is important for chiropractors to recommend rehab and exercise equipment to their patients so that they can use them at home in-between chiropractic treatments.

Chiropractic Products interviewed personnel from four companies to give you a better understanding of how their rehab and exercise equipment can benefit your patients: Gloria Miller is the marketing manager at Ball Dynamics International, Longmont, Colo; Ronald Nelson, DC, is from Mueller Sports Medicine, Prairie, Wis; Kelly May is a marketing assistant at OPTP, Minneapolis; and Brian Klaus is vice president at Stretchwell Inc, Warminster, Pa.

What type of rehab products does your company manufacture?
Ball Dynamics International: Fitness and rehab accessories for core strength, balance training, strengthening and resistance training, active aging, and children's sensory and movement therapy.

Mueller Sports Medicine: Mueller Sports Medicine offers braces and supports designed for comfortable, natural movements. The controlled-motion braces help the body heal while maintaining normal movement.

OPTP: OPTP offers a variety of rehabilitation products, from strength and flexibility training to neurological training tools. OPTP also offers information about the benefits and uses of these products.

Stretchwell: Therapy bands and tubing, fitness balls, medicine balls, band and tube accessories, range-of-motion pulleys, and balance disks.

Which rehab products help hold spinal adjustments longer?
Mueller Sports Medicine: The 255 Back Brace provides support in critical areas and helps maintain the natural anterior curve of the lumbar spine.

OPTP: One example of an OPTP product that can help hold spinal adjustments longer are our foam rollers.

Stretchwell: Balance disks and wedges and stability balls.

What are the advantages of your particular product(s)?
Ball Dynamics International: Brand recognition. Our FitBALL brand is well-known in the rehab and fitness markets. Our FitBALL exercise ball is burst-resistant. In the last several years, we have expanded the FitBALL brand to include balance boards, active-seating cushions, tubing, resistance bands, and weighted balls. We also offer a 30-day customer satisfaction guarantee.

Mueller Sports Medicine: Mueller braces and supports deliver support with unrestricted movement. Ronald Nelson, DC, has applied scientific research, anatomically correct design, and functional evaluation to replicate the body's natural movements.

OPTP: OPTP offers different styles of foam rollers to meet the different needs of patients. The standard white foam roller is for patients who are just starting out with foam roller training or rehabilitation. They are the least expensive and are available in different sizes—full round or half-round. The Axis rollers are for patients who need a stronger roller that can withstand more intense sessions. They do not lose their shape. The Pro-Roller series are the highest-quality rollers that may be used by many patients in a clinical setting.

Stretchwell: We are sole distributing agents, and our products are less expensive since you are buying direct. We guarantee our products for 6 months.

Can your products be used in the home as well as the doctor's office?
Ball Dynamics International: Absolutely. Our FitBALL exercise ball comes with a full-color exercise poster, perfect for home training. We also offer a full line of FitBALL education, including DVDs and books.

Mueller Sports Medicine: Yes. Each brace is designed for a comfortable fit, and they are easy to put on and take off.

OPTP: Yes. OPTP foam rollers are a great example of a tool that can be used in a doctor's office, and a patient may purchase it for home use as well. The foam rollers may be used for myofascial release, muscular flexibility, and dynamic flexibility. They may be used at home between therapy sessions to help with balance, body awareness, muscle reeducation, and core stability. Foam rollers may be used without supervision from a therapist.

Stretchwell: Yes, our products are especially designed for home use with professional advice.

What new technologies are you integrating into your rehab products?
Mueller Sports Medicine: Mueller is continuously designing, manufacturing, and releasing innovative products to keep our customers up to date with market trends. Two of our newest releases are Hg80® and Life Care™ for Her. Hg80 is a line of braces and supports that are permanently bonded against bacteria and fungus. The latex- and neoprene-free HydraCinn® fabric features an exclusive moisture-wicking heat-management system. Life Care™ for Her supports are ultrathin, contoured, and sized to fit a woman's body.

OPTP: The Pro-Roller series foam rollers are made using heat-molded foam that eliminates the air bubbles from them so that they do not lose their shape, even after continuous use with multiple patients. The foam rollers feature closed-cell, cross-linked technology. The Pro-Roller is available in soft density, which is soft yet supportive, making it ideal for tight or rigid areas, chronic pain sufferers, or osteoporosis patients.

Stretchwell: We remove 99.98% of the soluble proteins out of our latex products.

What long-term effects do your rehab products have for the patient?
Ball Dynamics International: Core strength has overall health and wellness implications, including posture, back health, flexibility, and balance perception.

Mueller Sports Medicine: Mueller's rehab products are designed around the body's natural movement, so the brace does not produce muscular atrophy if it is worn by the patient on a long-term basis.

OPTP: Depending on how the foam roller is used, it can help increase flexibility, strength, or balance for the patient that will have lasting effects. The patient can continue to use the foam roller for exercise even after they are done with treatment to help prevent future injuries.

Stretchwell: Exercise strengthens the core, helps keep good posture, and burns calories.

How can rehab products be incorporated into chiropractic treatment and care?
Ball Dynamics International: Everyone can benefit from physical movement, flexibility, and core strengthening. Our company's founder, Joanne Posner-Mayer, PT, is considered an early Swiss ball pioneer and has written a book for professionals, titled Swiss Ball Applications for Orthopedic & Sports Medicine. The 90-minute DVD provides information about Swiss ball use. The book works well as a patient training guide and features more than 500 exercises. Each exercise is also featured in the easy-to-use card deck.

Mueller Sports Medicine: Mueller braces are designed so patients may easily put them on or take them off as needed, on a long-term or short-term basis. Short-term use is for a condition that needs periodic support or bracing. For a condition requiring long-term use, the brace or support will not produce muscular atrophy.

OPTP: Rehab products, such as the foam roller, can be incorporated into chiropractic treatment to help strengthen muscles and increase flexibility, so when adjustments are made, the body has a stronger support system to hold the adjustments longer.

Stretchwell: A good follow-up program demonstrated by a physician or professional trainer can help your patients stay healthier between visits.