Medical Information
1. The use of medically approved 3-D measuring technology for the spinal column
2. The use of afferent stimulating insoles
3. Indications
4. Case studies on the effectiveness of afferent stimulating therapeutic insoles
5. The integration of afferent stimulating therapeutic insoles into your treatment concept
6. Billing options
7. Background information on the mode of function of afferent stimulating therapeutic insoles
1. The use of medically approved 3-D measuring technology for the spinal column
For an objective analysis of body posture, we use highly precise, medically approved measuring technology (Diers international formetric II). The formetric II analysing system enables fast (40 ms exposure time), non-contact and large-area optical measurement of the human back and spinal column to be made. It is a grid stereographic procedure in which beams of light are projected on to the patient’s back in a grid pattern. By establishing the surface structure and determining anatomical fixed points, the entire length of the spinal column can be shown in 3-D, including the position of the pelvis.
What sort of measurements are obtained from the technology?
[extended view]
A possible representation by means of 3-D measuring technology
When is the 3-D measuring procedure appropriate?
2. The use of afferent stimulating insoles
Under the brand name of “vabene”, we offer an afferent stimulating therapeutic insole which has a positive influence on body posture by proprioceptive controlling mechanisms being stimulated. Imbalances of tension in muscle chains can be specifically influenced by the proprioceptors in the musculature of the foot being activated, enabling postural abnormalities of muscular origin to be corrected. The therapeutic insole is individually produced for each patient, for it must correspond to each individual patient’s body posture and clinical picture. For this reason, an examination of body statics is first carried out, consisting of the following components:
Due to the fact that this is an integrative therapy and the therapeutic insoles can only function optimally when the causes of the disorder are recognized, it is beneficial to work together with doctors.
3. Indications
Experience shows that good results are achieved with therapeutic insoles in patients with the following indications:
Adults:
Children:
The vabene therapeutic insole is particularly suitable for children, because positive changes may occur very quickly, and new postural and movement patterns become manifest in the brain. Moreover, this method involves no external active agents. Alone the endogenous reflex system is activated and sensitised.
4. Case studies on the effectiveness of afferent stimulating therapeutic insoles
Measurement and proprioceptive treatment of a 50-year-old patient with faulty scoliotic posture
With this patient, rotation of the vertebral bodies was considerably improved, causing the spinal column to straighten up.
5. Integration of afferent stimulating therapeutic insoles into your treatment conceptYou can integrate the therapeutic insole into your treatment concept. To this end, you obtain measurements from before and after proprioceptive treatment. On the basis of these measurements, you can decide to what extent the therapeutic insoles are a suitable method of treatment for your patient. In addition, you decide upon the point in time for monitoring measurements to check the effects of the therapeutic insole.
6. Billing options
In some countries, the medical doctors do have own billing options by using the measurement data provided by the 3-dimensional scan of the spine.
For more information please contact vabene Germany.
7. Background information on the effectiveness of afferent stimulating therapeutic insoles
Therapeutic insoles cause afferent signals from the proprioceptors and exteroreceptors of the sole of the foot to increase. The therapeutic insole has raised points in specifically defined positions, so that the proprioceptors of certain foot muscles are purposely stimulated.
Position of the elements under the sole of the foot
Pressure on particular muscle points enable, in the first instance, the neuromuscular spindle and the Golgi tendon organ to be stimulated. These two proprioceptors have a crucial impact on muscle tone and length. The main function of the neuromuscular spindle is to provide the central nervous system with feedback on respective muscle length, or - as a differential sensory organ - on changes in position and tone. Feedback takes place either via fast conducting fibres (I a fibres) directly via the spinal cord with a monosynaptic stretch reflex to the motor nerve cell, or via slower return pathways of group II fibres to the central nervous system.
The way the Golgi tendon organs function completely contrasts with the mechanism of the neuromuscular spindle. The Golgi tendon organ registers the tone of the musculature, and, in the case of excessive stretching of the tendon, it has an inhibitory effect on the motor neurone, so that the muscle slackens. The antagonistic effect of these two proprioceptors enables a balance in muscle tone to be maintained.
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The gamma loop as an important reflex circuit
A monosynaptic proprioceptive reflex is initially triggered by the proprioceptors being stimulated. Ascending circuits produce polysynaptic responses in the form of postural and righting reflexes. This is how changes in tone of a foot muscle can alter the tone of an entire muscle chain.
In the nineteen seventies, Dr. Rene J. Bourdiol (a French neurologist) and Dr. med. Guiseppe Bortolin (an Italian surgeon) found direct neuronal connections between the musculature of the foot and brain areas relevant to posture.
On the basis of these results, Dr. Bortolin and Dr. Bourdial investigated to what extent body posture can be positively influenced by certain foot muscles being stimulated. They discovered close links between certain foot anomalies (e.g. pes cavus, pes transversoplanus, pes planus) and body posture.
Dr. Bourdial and Dr. Bortolin developed our training programme as we teach it today.
The foot as an important starting point for body posture
In physiological posture, the body is in a state of instable balance. The postural muscles are continuously tensed and relaxed. When body posture is in this optimal condition, weight in the foot is also evenly distributed.
Permanent deviations from this state of balance may cause chronic alterations in body posture. The body adopts either a hypertonic (forward leaning) or a hypotonic (leaning backward) posture. Both of these types of posture have particular characteristics. The hypertonic posture type frequently has increased tone in the dorsal musculature (e.g. neck, back and calf muscles). Moreover, the main weight load is over the forefoot, and there is often pes cavus syndrome.
The hypotonic type has decreased tonus in the dorsal musculature. This type of posture is the “easy standing position,” using the ligaments and joint capsules more than the muscles to maintain the body in an upright position. The main weight load is primarily towards the back of the foot. Moreover, there is also weak tone in the foot musculature, so that the arch of the foot is often lowered, or there is even a pes planus.
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 hypertone posture |
 optimale posture |
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The different types of posture |
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In addition to the postural deviations in the lateral plane, there are also significant deviations of the pelvis and shoulders in the horizontal plane.
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Displacement of body axes in the frontal plane |
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Functional differences in leg length, incorrect pelvic tilt and axis displacement of the shoulder girdle frequently result in muscle tension and pain in various joints.
Many of these postural abnormalities of primarily muscular origin can be corrected by proprioceptive stimulation of the musculature.
Alterations in posture take place in many cases directly (within seconds) after placing the thin elements beneath the sole of the foot and can be demonstrated objectively by means of 3-D analysis of the spinal column (see above).
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