Thanks to a generous donation from TECO, an Emera company, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is now able to use vibration therapy on outpatient pediatric rehabilitation patients. With the installation of a new Galileo® Tilt Table vibration system at both the SJCH Motion Analysis Center and SJCH North Tampa Specialty Center, Occupational Therapists can provide vibrational training sessions in just three minutes.

The Galileo® Tilt Table is a side-alternating vibrational training system that produces involuntary muscle contractions by using the nervous system to induce up to 4,500 reflexive muscle contractions in a short amount of time, similar to the movement that occurs when walking, but more frequently. The body responds to this motion with reflexive muscle contractions which helps to improve muscle strength and function, increase flexibility and range of motion, decrease muscle spasticity, increase bone density, and improve blood flow.

“Patients with a variety of movement disorders can benefit from vibrational therapy, including those with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, scoliosis, and spinal cord injuries,” says Lauren Rosen, program coordinator of SJCH’s Motion Analysis Center. “And by using the Galileo Tilt Table instead of a free-standing vibration platform, we’re able to provide muscle training to our patients who are unable to stand without support.”