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January 25, 2010

Serial casting helps improve range of motion

By JEFF MEYERS

PLATTSBURGH — Elizabethtown Community Hospital's rehab program has given Jarrod Russell an opportunity to regain his independence.

Russell, from Ticonderoga, suffered massive injuries in a 2003 automobile accident that left him in a coma for several months and confined to a wheelchair for years.

Now, Russell is back on his feet, has his own apartment and feels confident that he will continue to fight his way back from the debilitating accident.

Outpatient staffers have helped him a lot, he said as physical therapist Kevin Cooper and occupational therapist Kristen Resto measured changes in their patient's range of motion for his right hand.

"When I first came here, I was in a wheelchair. I couldn't walk around the house. Now, I'm doing a lot more."

Injuries from the accident had also affected Russell's hands — therapists are now using a unique process called serial casting to reverse the damage.

"He has held his hand in a fist so long that he now can't open his hand," Cooper said. "Serial casting helps us to reshape the damaged tissues. By replacing the cast every week, we can stretch out the tendons."

Russell was completing his third re-casting, and Cooper said they would try another two or three weeks before moving on to the left hand.

"We're aiming toward a normal range of motion (for both hands)," Cooper said. "We may not get there, but hopefully, we will be able to get more range of motion for him."

The overall therapy program has proven beneficial to Russell in many ways, including more stamina for the sessions themselves.

"When he first started, he'd only go seven minutes," said William Doherty, director of physical therapy for ECH. "Now he's going 45 minutes. His work and effort have really energized his body."

For Russell, it has been a long road back with miles still to go, but his confidence has never been higher.

"It's like I've always been taught," he said. "You don't know what you can do until you try."

E-mail Jeff Meyers at: jmeyers@pressrepublican.com

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