Ten years ago, Physical Therapist Beverly Cusick was searching for a way to help patients after her therapy sessions were over. All too often, the benefits of her hands-on work with her pediatric neuromotor rehabilitation patients did not continue after she sent them home. After several years of hard work and trial and error, TheraTogs, the wearable therapy system, was born. Since they were introduced a decade ago, TheraTogs have succeeded in making a huge difference in the lives of thousands of patients with neuromotor, sensory, postural, and orthopedic disorders.

TheraTogs are a groundbreaking treatment system that is based on sound biomechanical principles and solid research in neuromuscular science. Theratogs are a "wearable hug" in the form of a flexible, adjustable exo-muscular garment to be worn under clothing that works to promote trunk and joint stability, helps retrain muscles and assists patients with sensory processing issues. "What TheraTogs allow me to do is to increase the 'number of hands' I'd often wished for to improve performance during therapy sessions, and then to 'send my successful hands home' with the client," Cusick explains. "Ten years ago, all I could do was teach caretakers and then hope that they would continue the therapy at home."

TheraTogs are made from a patented GoldTone™ material with a soft, yet firm inner foam layer that supports the skin and the underlying muscles along with a Velcro®-sensitive outer layer. Therapists can then attach adjustable elastic straps to this layer to provide the best positing for alignment and stability. The GoldTone material is comfortable, washable, breathable, and can be safely worn for extended periods of time.

 

While TheraTogs were initially designed to assist with neuromuscular disorders such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida, therapists quickly found a host of helpful applications for the product, including lower extremity issues such as gait abnormalities, spine misalignments, joint deviations and laxity as well as stroke related issues among many others. One popular use for TheraTogs is to assist in rehab after orthopedic surgery. Therapists found that traditional splints are uncomfortable; braces don't move enough and many compression products are inflexible. TheraTogs solves all these issues and are extremely gentle yet supportive on healing joints, bones and muscles.

Another area TheraTogs have been  successfully applied is with patients with pervasive developmental disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and other sensory processing disorders such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders. The firm support provided by TheraTogs helps to calm patients and provides gentle tactile stimulation which has been proven to help them focus and therefore helps with other therapy modalities during sessions.