“Combi Bike Plus is incredibly easy to use”
While they exercise with Combi Bike Plus, residents at GuldBoSund Nursing Home and Rehabilitation enjoy engaging talks with occupational therapist Rune Nielsen. The exerciser is easy to use, and it works well for senior citizens.
GuldBoSund Nursing Home and Rehabilitation is privately run and has 50 residents from all over Denmark as well as 10 spots in the rehabilitation department for paying guests. Citizens come to rehab with fractures and paresis, among other things, in need of rehabilitation.
The residents’ cognitive and physical training is handled by occupational therapist Rune Nielsen and a physiotherapist. They overlap each other and use the Combi Bike Plus in training sessions.
GuldBoSund invested in Combi Bike Plus in 2019, according to Rune Nielsen, who has a background in assistive equipment. They already possessed a motorised exerciser, but as the number of residents increased, another solution was required. After doing some research on the internet, they discovered the exerciser from Lemco Mobility, which is Danish-developed technology without a motor.
– Combi Bike Plus is perfectly suited to the target audience of elderly, who frequently has a shaky walk, as well as persons in wheelchairs. It is ideal for individuals who want rehabilitation and is also excellent for self-training. The older model with motor is more “hospital-like,” whereas the Combi Bike Plus is more attractive in style, he says.
Strengthening, fitness, and warming up
The ground floor of the rehabilitation department houses Combi Bike Plus. At first, it was in the first-floor fitness centre. However, when Corona arrived in 2020, fitness was shut down. Rune Nielsen asserts that the mobility exerciser is now more accessible and is being used by more individuals as a result of the new placement.
– We begin by identifying the unique training requirements of each resident. We typically use it for individuals who require both strength and fitness. Additionally, the residents use it as a warm-up for other exercises, such as gymnastics, says Rune Nielsen and continues:
– Because the resistance can be graduated, we can modify the resistance to fit a variety of people, based on their physical capabilities. The arms can assist, doing the circular movements if the user, for instance, has limited mobility in their legs, and vice versa.
The mobility exerciser makes it simple for the user to move their hands and feet in a 360-degree circle. Without inconsistent rotational movements like with other exercisers, the BEAT technology makes sure the user gets an even thread in the pedals. The Combi Bike Plus may be used by even residents who are severely paralyzed, and you can then easily track your speed, time, and distance on the mobility exerciser’s display.
Self-training in the evenings and during weekends
– If we have a resident who has poor lung capacity, we use the Combi Bike Plus for interval training so that the resident’s heart rate rises and the lungs are strengthened without us pushing the residents too hard. This means that the resident can walk more easily, even if he or she has problems breathing, says Rune Nielsen.
– We provide both individual and team training in rehab, and because the Combi Bike Plus is so simple to use, residents also use when the physiotherapy is closed and during the weekends. A resident who needs to improve his balance, strength, and fitness can with benefits exercise with Combi Bike Plus by themselves, he says.
According to Rune Nielsen, the Combi Bike Plus is always in use since it offers the residents a variety of training and exercise opportunities.
Good for conversations
Rune Nielsen begins an individual training course by building a picture of the resident’s circumstances and physical capabilities, and then residents exercise with 20-minute intervals. They typically begin with a resistance of four and then adjust the resistance. There are sometimes competitions among residents, particularly men, to see who can ride the most kilometres in the shortest amount of time.
There is also additional advantage to using a mobility trainer:
– As an occupational therapist, I have many talks with the residents. And while the residents sit and exercise with Combi Bike Plus, I frequently have good “cognitive” conversations with them about their circumstances and what is going on in their lives, says Rune Nielsen.
Helps achieve the objectives
GuldBoSund’s mission is to be “preventive, rehabilitative, quality of life-giving, and health promoting.” And the mobility exerciser contributes to achieving the goals.
– Combi Bike Plus essentially makes a significant contribution to attaining the overall goal of, among other things, being rehabilitative and health-promoting. It helps in ensuring that residents receive the training they require. Residents have more freedom because they can self-train, says Rune Nielsen.
The best part about Combi Bike Plus?
– With Combi Bike Plus you can exercise the entire body. The fact that it is straightforward and easy to use is also a huge bonus for many seniors. Therefore, I can easily recommend it to the target group of elderly people who, for example, need rehabilitation, he says.
In Bed Rehabilitation with the BedBike exerciser
Lars has greatly benefited from the Lemco bed cycle with special pedals in his rehabilitation process following an extended hospital stay.
