Nestled in Southern California you can find a thriving 10-location Physical Therapy company with the name Gaspar Physical Therapy. Founded in 1994 by Paul Gaspar, PT, the clinics have grown immensely with focus on orthopedic injuries, cardiac conditions, sports injuries, spine conditions, post-surgical care, auto accident injuries, and balance and stability programs. “We have achieved successful results through hands-on treatment, excellent communication, and thorough patient education,” Paul explains during our interview. Like many clinics, Gaspar PT treats many of the typical ailments. However, Paul’s passion for cardiopulmonary recovery brought him to a new device that has revolutionized his clinics’ ability to treat these debilitating disease processes. The Pro2fit inspiratory training device has become a staple treatment technique, as well as an income generator for the company.
Learn more as we discuss with Paul more about this amazing device.
Rob: Hi Paul, thank you for coming to chat with me about the device, and showing me how it works. So, when were you first introduced to it, and what led you to want the Pro2fit to be implemented in your clinics?
Paul: Hi Rob, thank you for having me on, I’m happy to be here. In the Summer of 2020, COVID-19 was in full swing. As many clinics were doing during that time, I was looking for new opportunities for treatment options. COVID symptoms and eventually long-COVID symptoms were prevalent in my community, and I had a background in this area. I wanted to find a way to help my clients who were being affected by these symptoms, so I reached out to the presenter at a lecture, and he connected me to this device.
Rob: What an amazing thing you did for your community and I’m glad you were able to find what you were looking for with this device. Can you tell me a little bit about what the Pro2fit does and how you implement it into your treatments?
About the Pro2fit
Paul: Of course, the device is a bluetooth-enabled, inspiratory muscle training device. Connected to a cell phone or tablet, the device immediately provides visual biofeedback to the user while they are provided resistance breathing into the device. The graph feedback provides motivation and drive to provide maximal effort with each repetition. The device clearly can show their progress and with saved information that I can access from the clinic, it forces accountability.
Rob: Very neat. When it comes to our patients who need inspiratory training, I think losing their motivation is a huge aspect of why other training devices fail time and time again. So, this is a huge leg up that the Pro-2fit provides. Who else other than COVID-19 patients have you treated with this?
Uses:
Paul: My patients are a primarily geriatric cardiopulmonary or neurologic population; however, I understand that the device has also been studied on elite athletes as well. My patients are typically dealing with heart failure, COPD, and interstitial lung disease, but I also work with general deconditioned populations. Many who fall into this category struggle with breathing. We want to make sure that their respiratory pump is not the primary cause as to why they are not getting oxygen to their legs. Also, poor breath economy also has a direct effect on patients’ core and balance muscles via stiffness in the diaphragm and other inspiratory muscles. By adding the Pro2fit to their treatment regimen at home we can improve our patient’s movement economy and exercise capacity, so that we can use their treatment time to focus on their back pain or exercise.
Rob: Ah, so it sounds like you often use the Pro2fit in conjunction with other focuses or treatments. I completely agree that decreased respiratory condition will greatly affect their fall risk or back pain. It’s always amazing when you have an opportunity to attack a problem from multiple approaches like this. You mention that you send your patients home with the device? How do the patient’s do with the technology when using it alone?
Implementing the Pro2fit into your Clinic:
Paul: Correct, our patients are educated on the use of the device in the clinic so that they feel comfortable using the device in the clinic a few times before we send them home with them. From there I can track their compliance and progress over the app and answer any questions they have during their visits. I have multiple Therapists within our company who are trained with use of the Pro-2 devices.
Rob: How many patients do you see for the Pro2fit per week? What type of treatment codes do you use while you are training with the Pro2fit?
Paul: We typically treat about 25-30 patients per week for the Pro2fit. Mostly we are treating either neurologic re-education or biofeedback. At the point the patient is primarily just endurance training, then I would use therapeutic exercise. We also definitely use the Pro-2 as a diagnostic test. Just as you would use a goniometer to test someone’s range of motion. We use the Pro-2 to assess someone’s respiratory breathing ability. This information is pivotal in our cardiac rehab.
Rob: I can imagine that there are many clinic owners out there who would absolutely love to add another 30 visits to their week. Be it a Physical Therapist who works in geriatric populations, or even those who work with elite athletes I think we all can utilize the Pro2fit for improved patient outcomes. How do you track patient outcomes on the Pro2fit?
Data Tracking on the Pro2fit:
Paul: The Pro2fit device has multiple points of data it tracks; however, the most powerful objective information comes from the “FIT score. (fatigue index score)” This score is the accumulation of multiple factors in your breath and provides the client strong objective information to track progress. This is provided after each repetition, and provides insight on general inspiratory efficiency, and endurance when using the prescribed protocols.
Rob: Wow it really sounds like a great addition to treatment regimens. Paul, thank you for passing along this great device to our readers. I have had a chance to use the device myself, and it really does provide quite the workout. If you are a clinic owner or director and want to learn more about the Pro2fit device for your clinic, reach out here for more information. Use Promo code “ROCK50” to get $50 off your purchase. Offer will run through April.