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North Coast is not just an area named on a map, it is also a specialized medical supply company that manufactures, imports, and acts as a wholesale distributor for the rehabilitation industry.  North Coast Medical, Inc. was founded in 1974 by Frank and Loretta Biehl with one goal in mind; a desire to help medical therapists gain easy accessibility to products that their patients need.  Similar to the mission statement of the founders of Rehabmart, the Biehl family also has a strong commitment to offer rehabilitation therapists and other medical practitioners the opportunity to obtain the medical products that are necessary for correct patient care.

As with most businesses, North Coast Medical started off as a small company, using a small office and the family garage as a warehouse.  With its humble beginnings as a home-based company distributing occupational therapy and hand therapy products, today North Coast Medical is the direct result of many years of hard work, leading to a diversification into physical therapy and other healthcare arenas.  Working with large inventory levels and operational offices on the east coast and west coast, now North Coast is able to offer more diverse therapy products to more customers faster and easier than ever before.  Manufacturing and providing medical equipment which is utilized on a regular basis by therapists with brand names such as Norco™, Achieva™, Comfort Cool™ and Progress™, North Coast’s commitment of unfaltering passion, outstanding service, and superior quality products makes it possible to further develop new products to help their customer’s problems, while additionally helping them to lead more fulfilled and independent lives.

Rehabmart is proud to carry the many medical-assistive products offered by North Coast Medical, Inc.  With an offering of more than nine-hundred products from North Coast, this newsletter would like to focus on a few of their products, with two of them as the latest exciting additions from North Coast.

The 8-Board is ideal for home and clinical programs assisting people with gait training, whole-body kinetic chain training, proprioceptive awareness, weight loss, and core training. This adjustable core balance trainer uses the natural rotation of the lower back and hips to improve core strength and dynamic balance by moving the hips, spine, knees, and ankles in an intrinsic and natural rotating movement.  The user can adapt the 8-Board for utilization in different training techniques to help strengthen the body’s trunk, legs, and arms, such as for helping in preventing injury, training for sports, assisting in improved cross-dominant coordination of the shoulders and hips, and many other body strengthening uses. For a better perspective on this product, please view the video at the end of the newsletter.

The SMART-Mirror is based on a rehabilitation technique called Graded Motor Imagery, or GMI.  GMI is a rehabilitation process that is used in treating pain and/or movement problems related to an altered nervous system by basically tricking the brain into believing that the reflection of the able right hand in the mirror is the injured left.  This exercise is done in measured and monitored steps, increasing the difficulty as progress is made.  

The SMART-Mirror is a simple, low-tech therapy tool that is very effective for the final stage of the Graded Motor Imagery therapy.  The SMART-Mirror will help patients battling phantom limb syndrome, arthritis, hemiparesis, regional pain syndrome, or after-surgery therapy and rehabilitation.  The shatterproof mirror can be angled to best meet the needs of the individual patient, while the other non-mirrored side has three ventilation windows which will allow a therapist a better viewing portal.  Go to the SMART-Mirror page to view the video to better understand the workings of this product.

North Coast absolutely had the user in mind with their design of the Norco Rolling Walker.  Unlike many walkers which are dangerous on uneven surfaces, this walker will keep the user stable with its large six inch tires and the adjustable, easy-grip ergonomic hand brakes that can control the speed of the user and even lock the wheels when needed.  The Norco Rolling Walker can also provide both convenience and comfort with its padded seat which affords the user a resting place when needed and then will fold away when not in use.  In addition, this walker highlights a very handy wire basket to help carry items from the kitchen or other places from around the house, allowing the user more independence and safety.

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The Figure 8 Resistance Therapy product allows a therapist several options when developing a weighted program that will help improve range of motion and increase strength for patients with scapula, shoulder, and forearm injuries.  This system includes a vinyl-covered board with a figure 8 pattern, an Upper/Lower Extremity Skate, and a resistance system that hooks to the extremity skate at four different leverage points.  The system also comes with a clamp, a pulley with ropes, and nine separate eight ounce weights.  The universal hand piece on the skate cradles the forearm, positioning the hand for shoulder and elbow range of motion exercises.  The hand piece can be removed for lower extremity exercise therapy.

These four rehabilitation products are just four of the diverse and varied medical therapy products produced and/or distributed by North Coast and offered by Rehabmart.  These four products show the variety of rehab and physical therapy products that North Coast is proud to offer and they are not done yet, as each year they bring revolutionary new medical therapy products to the marketplace. ‘North Coast’ does not mean a named area on a map; actually North Coast Medical defines a grand name in the area of rehabilitation medical supplies for therapists and their patients around the globe. North Coast Medical brings a world full of premium quality rehabilitation supplies to the mapped world.

To view the other medical therapy supplies by North Coast and offered by Rehabmart, please go to the North Coast Medical supply page. 

Bill Stock
Executive Editor,
Content & Social Media Services
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO