News

Check back here regularly to find out what's going on with us...

PATIENT EDUCATION: THE POWER TO CHOOSE WHERE AND WITH WHOM YOU ENTRUST YOUR REHABILITATION

Recent professional journals are supporting therapy programs that increase
hypertonicity and compensatory strategies, and avoid the restoration of normal
movement altogether. NEURO-IFRAH® therapists will never turn their backs on helping
patients realize their potential for normal movement

It is the NEURO-IFRAH® Organization’s belief that one of the primary purposes of rehabilitation for patients affected by a stroke or brain injury is to help restore normal movement. The NEURO-IFRAH® Organization is comprised of clinicians skilled in restoration. We care deeply about what patients want and we have developed the skills to return them back to life with the fullest extent of normal movement to which they are capable.

It is deeply concerning that articles appearing in professional journals have recently declared it unnecessary to work on normal movement, saying: “. . . facilitation of normal movement in an effort to achieve optimal recovery has shown to be unnecessary” (Scheets, Patricia L., et. al. “President’s Perspective: Moving Forward.” Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, vol. 45, January 2021, pp. 46-48). There is also the equally concerning statement that, “efforts to reduce spasticity do not improve volitional movement” (Scheets et al., p. 47).

We vehemently disagree with these statements and others like them, which are used as an excuse to ignore the massive side effects of programs being sold as “moving forward” in rehabilitation, when what they are is moving backward in skill, knowledge, and outcome. The stance that hypertonicity has no effect on movement because there is no research saying it does, is simply not a sound or reasonable argument. With such a stance, it becomes unsurprising that the conclusion drawn would be to not work on normal movement because it has become unachievable with such abnormal muscle activity. The fact that these same professional journals claim to have other strategies for achieving optimal recovery without offering self-evident results to support such claims, is yet another point of concern.

What continues to become increasingly self-evident to us is the emergence of massive compensatory strategies. These strategies claim to restore a patient’s ability to walk, and yet they leave those same patients with impairments that are difficult to reverse. Patients arrive to our NEURO-IFRAH® Clinics with hypertonicity, notably in the arms and feet. As a result, these patients suffer, and our skilled therapists must work hard to
undo the side effects of abnormal muscle activity that ends up limiting the patient’s options and potential for recovery of more normal movement and control. It is important that patients are not subjected to strategies that increase massive hypertonicity, and are referred to us earlier. The less we have to un-do, the more efficiently patients can find themselves resuming and assuming life roles.

Self-evident and outcome-oriented results are at the heart of NEURO-IFRAH®. Results for us are not merely confined to paper, but rather exemplified in patients who get to live their day-to-day lives with the results. We have decades of experience and overwhelming evidence on video documentation that clearly demonstrates why
NEURO-IFRAH® is superior and unmatched in the rehabilitation of patients affected by a stroke or brain injury. We also understand that neurological challenges in rehabilitation require high levels of skill. We understand why rehabilitation of the upper extremity, lower extremity, trunk, head/neck control, facial expressions, oral motor control, total hand and foot function, as well as any movement throughout the body or any functional
activity—including all function in upright postures—is challenging to those who do not have our knowledge and experience. We understand why those without our knowledge and experience might therefore want to give up. But the NEURO-IFRAH® Organization completely disagrees with the suggestion of giving up, or the excuses used as a means of giving up.

The patient ultimately has the power to choose where and with whom they entrust their rehabilitation process. Patient education is critical to helping patients avoid activities that sacrifice their potential to recover more normal movement and function. Our therapists will never turn their backs on patients and we recommend that other therapists or practitioners who give up on the rehabilitation of the upper extremity, or any other part or function, refer their patient to us. The NEURO-IFRAH® APPROACH is a whole person approach. We are here and ready to fill the gap.

Clinical Group with input from Patients

VIDEO DOCUMENTATION:
THE EVIDENCE OF RESTORATION IS UNDENIABLE TO THE VIEWER

The NEURO-IFRAH® APPROACH is the only approach that has amassed over 1,000 video-documented examples that demonstrate self-evident, unmatched, and superior results

Specific therapy leads to specific outcomes. Nonspecific therapy leads to nonspecific outcomes. The NEURO-IFRAH® APPROACH is a whole person approach requiring high skill in application and knowledge. Our approach meets patients’ needs because it is highly specialized and individualized versus the one-size-fits-all methods, which are non-individualized and fit current models in research where highly skilled whole body and person handling is not required in application. Clinical observation of the results from widespread strategies show mass compensation and abnormal muscle activity that sacrifice the patient's potential for restoring upper extremity function and foot function, not to mention countless other side effects.

The NEURO-IFRAH® APPROACH is the only approach that has amassed well over 1,000 examples that demonstrate self-evident, unmatched, and superior results that are documented by video. The extensive video documentation demonstrates self-evident results on patients who are not merely data on paper. It also clearly demonstrates that NEURO-IFRAH® results are rooted in restoration and embody the spirit and intent of rehabilitation which has a positive effect on the individual, family, community, and greater community.

Among our extensive library of documentation, is video of self-evident massive compensation, abnormal muscle activity, and countless patient concerns that stem from the use of many other strategies outside of the NEURO-IFRAH® approach. On behalf of the patients, we feel there is a need for an open and honest dialogue that is built upon healthcare accountability versus academic limitations and widespread mainstream manipulations of what is endorsed. The NEURO-IFRAH® Clinics have a standing invitation to all other researchers and those who are advancing strategies in rehabilitation to participate in a live open forum for patient demonstration that is videotaped and played to patients and families to help them learn about effective rehabilitation and address concerns about various strategies.

We encourage patient informed review and the revolutionizing of peer review so that it constitutes the unbiased review of skilled clinicians in application who are known for results. We also encourage therapists to be curious about phenomena and to make decisions based on the results. Therapists taking NEURO-IFRAH® courses are exposed to a higher level of analysis and video documentation of restoration that is unparalleled and unmatched, changing the therapist's understanding of what is possible. This is demonstrated live on patients during courses taught by the originator of NEURO-IFRAH®, and documented in video feedback from the therapists in courses who often state that they wish they had learned this in school.

We will continue to implement video documentation in our clinics, showing the issues encountered from the applications of various strategies employed from organizations and practitioners outside of NEURO-IFRAH®, as well as the corrections needed, and the results of the application of the NEURO-IFRAH® APPROACH. The evidence of restoration is undeniable to the viewer.

Why Most Published Research Findings Are False

Corollary 5: The greater the financial and other interests and prejudices in a scientific field, the less likely the research findings are to be true. Conflicts of interest and prejudice may increase bias, u. Conflicts of interest are very common in biomedical research [26], and typically they are inadequately and sparsely reported [26,27]. Prejudice may not necessarily have financial roots. Scientists in a given field may be prejudiced purely because of their belief in a scientific theory or commitment to their own findings. Many otherwise seemingly independent, university-based studies may be conducted for no other reason than to give physicians and researchers qualifications for promotion or tenure. Such nonfinancial conflicts may also lead to distorted reported results and interpretations. Prestigious investigators may suppress via the peer review process the appearance and dissemination of findings that refute their findings, thus condemning their field to perpetuate false dogma. Empirical evidence on expert opinion shows that it is extremely unreliable [28].

PMC PubMed Central PLoS Med v.2(8); 2005 Aug PMC1182327

Full Article

NEURO-IFRAH CLINICS by WALEED

Neuro-IFRAH clinics by Waleed™

As the originator of the Neuro-IFRAH approach I am a clinician by nature, who is honored to serve and be part of patient's progress throughout the years. In the last four decades I have had the privilege to teach courses nationally and internationally for health care professionals. I have also had the honor of mentoring and guiding therapists nationally and internationally. Throughout the years I have stayed loyal to the mission of health care with patient progress being the utmost priority.

Other than my California clinics, Neuro-IFRAH Center of La Jolla and Neuro-IFRAH clinics™ Los Gatos, there are a few clinics that I license, mentor, and guide the education and program development of therapists.

Those clinics are: