Brace Clinic Offers Clinical Coordination for Patients

Medical braces help support and stabilize muscles, joints or bones that are weakened, injured or deformed. Good Shepherd Rehabilitation’s Brace Clinic evaluates and designs braces through clinician collaboration that helps better meet each patient’s goals.

Good Shepherd’s Benjamin R. Scoblionko, MD, is an outpatient physiatrist specializing in spasticity and dystonia management, including bracing. We asked Dr. Scoblionko to discuss the Brace Clinic and its unique approach to patient care.

What is the Brace Clinic?

Dr. Scoblionko: The Brace Clinic is held monthly at the Hyland Center for Health & Technology on Good Shepherd’s South Allentown Campus. The Brace Clinic provides outpatient evaluations by a physician, physical therapist and orthotist (a health-care provider who makes the braces), who meet as a group with the patient and collaborate on the best assistive device solution.

What type of braces are offered and for what conditions?

Dr. Scoblionko: The Brace Clinic offers custom-made brace devices for anyone who has difficulty walking. The clinic specializes in bracing for patients with brain or spinal cord injuries, including a history of stroke, neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, ALS and MS, and congenital conditions, such as spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

Custom-made bracing devices include knee, ankle and foot orthosis designed for a range of goals, including improving function, positioning, mobility and comfort. Upper limb devices include soft-hand splints, which are also known as comfy splints, wrist-hand orthoses, single-point and quad canes, and custom regular and platform walkers.

What can patients expect at the Brace Clinic?

Dr. Scoblionko: The first step for each patient is an evaluation by a physiatrist, also known as a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, like me, who determines if a bracing device is appropriate. The patient is then referred to the Brace Clinic, where a comprehensive mobility assessment is performed simultaneously by the clinical team which includes a physiatrist, physical therapist and orthotist. This collaborative process eliminates conflicting recommendations and ensures a unified approach.

Once a brace is recommended, the clinical team takes measurements and creates a cast and mold to start fabrication. A custom-made assistive device can be ready in two weeks from the initial appointment. Some equipment, including canes, walkers, adaptive grips and ankle braces, are modified or adjusted on the spot.

At the Brace Clinic, we also identify other issues that may be aided by these assistive devices, such as bone health, standing tolerance, and muscle, tendon or ligament contracture prevention.

Why is the approach of the Brace Clinic unique?

Dr. Scoblionko: Bracing is not a new service, but Good Shepherd’s collaborative approach is unique and results in a shorter brace delivery time thanks to a streamlined assessment for the patient.

Communication happens in real time between me (as the physician) and the therapist and brace maker. Patients find it satisfying to hear and learn from the discussions between the clinicians, as we help the patient set goals and establish realistic expectations.

How did you become specialized in bracing?

Dr. Scoblionko: During my medical residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation, I took a special interest in gait mechanics (the study of how the body moves to walk or run). It is an issue that impacts many patients, and mobility has a big impact on self-care, independence and functional abilities. I continued my education by completing a fellowship in spasticity at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

I continue to teach a gait course at Jefferson University Medical School and have lectured on walking mechanics and abnormalities at Jefferson and Temple University School of Medicine.

To learn more about the Brace Clinic or Dr. Scoblionko’s practice, call 1.888.447.3422 (44.REHAB).