Maryland’s Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Fall 2017 - 12

SPOTLIGHT:

BALANCE
REHABILITATION
Balance is essential
throughout your day,
whether you're completing activities around your
Drs. Elias Melhem, Howard Eisenberg and Paul Fishman

house, at work or for
leisure. Balance deficits
shouldn't be a normal

the batteries. But many, like

and Crowe heard one quick,

part of your life, no matter

John Crowe, are turned away

loud bang when the sonic

your age. Balance training

by the wires coming out of

waves reached the cells in his

can help you overcome

the head to the chest. He

brain that caused the tremor.

unsteadiness, reduce

says he would sooner deal

"It's pretty dramatic to

dizziness and vertigo,

with his symptoms than

see the results," says Dr.

reduce the risk of falls and

undergo DBS.

Eisenberg. "Patients can

improve quality of life. 

"When my doctor started

become emotional because

The comprehensive

The NeuroCom
technology helps
determine the
cause of a patient's
balance problems.

mentioning drilling in my

there is such a noticeable

rehabilitation program at UM Upper

head and putting wires in,

difference right away."

Chesapeake Health, which is part of the UM

It was certainly

I said I can live without that,"
Crowe says. "And then when

immediate for Crowe.
When he repeated the

they came up with focused

Rehabilitation Network, offers the NeuroCom®
balance assessment and treatment program
at the Y in Abingdon. The NeuroCom technol-

ultrasound, I thought, 'You

baseline tests, he could

ogy helps identify reasons why balance may be

know what? Let's try it.' "

trace the marker through

abnormal by testing the sensory systems in the

the maze without hitting

body that contribute to maintaining balance. 

THE RIGHT FIT,
THE RIGHT
PROCEDURE

the sides, draw a horizontal
line and drink out of a cup
without spilling.
"I was tickled to death,"

Once Crowe learned more
about focused ultrasound,

Crowe says.
But it wasn't until a hospi-

he contacted his daughter,

Our balance rehabilitation program includes
these key areas of treatment:
■ Concussion management
■ Fall prevention for older adults
■ Vestibular rehabilitation
■ Neuro rehabilitation

a research associate at a local

tal dinner of chicken, mashed

■ Dizziness

hospital, and found his way

potatoes and peas that

■ Peripheral neuropathy

to the University of Maryland

night that it really sunk in.

Medical Center, where he was

"I picked up the fork,

The UM Upper Chesapeake Center for Sports
Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Y is the only

told he was a candidate for

picked up some peas

location in Harford County to provide this unique

the new treatment.

and put them in my mouth,"

form of treatment.

After a series of base-

says Crowe. "I never gave

line tests-using a pen

it a second thought until

to go through a circular

after I'm eating the chicken

maze, drawing horizontal

and I'm thinking to myself,

lines and sipping out of

'I ate those peas without

a lidded cup-it was finally

them falling all over the place.'
"That was the most

time to have the procedure.
It lasted about three hours,

LEARN MORE
For more information about the
NeuroCom program, call 443-409-0051.
You can also watch a video about the
program at umuch.org/healthy.

amazing thing." 

12  MARYLAND'S HEALTH MATTERS

 
To watch a video about FUS, visit umuch.org/healthy.
http://www.umuch.org/healthy http://www.umuch.org/healthy
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland’s Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Fall 2017
