In this article, I will try to introduce Therasuit therapy to you. I am not a physiotherapist, but a potential social worker, so I can only provide you with knowledge about this method from the client's point of view.

After all, we should first define the basic framework of this therapy in order to know the essence of this therapeutic process, even if I am not an expert in the true sense of the word. However, I admit that I only really understood the professional interpretation of this therapeutic activity based on practical experience and re-studying the knowledge about it. Therasuit therapy is a complex rehabilitation method with a highly individual approach to each client. This therapeutic activity has three phases:

  1. The phase of the so-called active awakening of muscles that the client is unable to use alone in normal activities. We achieve their activation and stimulation with passive therapeutic means, which include paraffin, stretching shortened muscles, massage ball so-called hedgehog etc.
  2. In the second phase, weights are used for hands and feet. That is why the client lies in the so-called cage to which these weights can be attached or a bicycle will be used.
  3. The third stage is the well-known "bag". I have only seen this bag on another client, and it reminds me of an acupuncture tool, as it has points on it that, in my opinion, massage the whole body and stimulate it to move. (http://www.svetielko-po.sk/therasuit , 8.1.2018)

Therapeutic intervention by therapists lasts between 1 and 3 weeks. An individual with a disability exercises for 5 to 6 days, from 2.5 to 4.5 hours a day. Depending on how your therapists set up your rehabilitation plan. Activities associated with therapy with an adult client are usually performed by two therapists who complement each other in their activities. A certain comfort of the individual is thus ensured.

However, let's also be very honest with ourselves. The length of this therapeutic process is conditioned by the family's financial situation. Almost all families who want to receive a member for this therapy cooperate very closely with the OZ in collecting 2% income tax, foundations and donor portals in order to raise funds for their child... This therapeutic activity is very financially demanding and therefore it is also conditioned by the presentation of your person and family on social networks and it may not always be pleasant for you. You need financial help from several FOs and POs, and it doesn't end with one request for a sponsorship.

I always wanted to be someone invisible, such a gray mouse, I didn't need to draw attention to myself and my condition to anyone because of the need for help. Now, however, my attitude is slowly changing, because my biggest dream is to give at least a partial "CHESCHE MAT" together with the cerebral palsy therapists. This life "CHESS" with DMO is very difficult for me, because I need two forms of help, financial and physical. Without these factors, I cannot effectively use such a valuable tool in the fight against DMO, which in my eyes is still a small miracle called Therasuit therapy.

I learned about Therasuit therapy from three sources:

  1. Media - a certain well-known show
  2. Invite a friend to donation portals
  3. Personal recommendation of an acquaintance

My family and I were significantly activated by the personal recommendation of an acquaintance. We told ourselves that we have nothing to lose and only gain if we try. We considered it my last hope, because I am already an adult, and in the case of an adult with a physical disability, his pathological situation cannot be changed very much. However, Therasuit therapy has taught me that there is almost always little hope for improving our health. However, we must be internally convinced of it and never perceive our therapeutic process as a negative. Before it starts, let's make it a positive one by internal tuning and joy that it will definitely help us.

When I came to therapy for the first time, i.e. 18/09/2017 and I saw my therapist, my heart was jumping to the ceiling. I didn't know what to do with the charge of happiness I felt. With all my strength, even the last ones, I wanted to at least minimally defeat DMO, and he was the best tool to help me achieve my goal. It is a very strange feeling for me if I have to completely entrust my fragile life to a stranger. However, at the Therasuit therapy, I entrusted my life to the hands of the young therapist without any worries and I was normally happy about it. However, I had 5 unspoken requests for him:

  1. watch out for me
  2. be ethical
  3. take me as an equal
  4. achieve something with me.
  5. communicate with me often about anything so that the perception of my pain is as low as possible.

I was afraid to say these wishes out loud at the beginning, because I didn't know him, so I kept them to myself. However, he fulfilled absolutely all of them without me telling him. For that reason, I felt very good during the therapy. I perceived every activity with him very positively, that's why I knew how to accept it psychologically. Therasiut therapy with DMO is very useful because it is practiced for a longer period of time. Since I have muscle tones that result from my diagnosis, during these 3 hours the given muscle has enough time to relax and is easier to handle. The client then has less pain. At the beginning of the therapy, everything hurt terribly because my tendons are shortened. But that didn't bother me either, because I really wanted to achieve success. Thanks to Therasuit therapy, I managed to relax my left arm, my digestive tract was adjusted, I don't have to take laxatives and I can sit up and maintain my balance with someone's help. My therapist and I also experienced very difficult times. At times I felt like I was on a swing, as DMO is a very strong and challenging opponent in life. There was also an injury because I stretched my tendon. After the injury, another huge wish was added: "Keep holding my hand and don't give up on me!" I was very weak and mentally vulnerable. However, my therapist supported me morally and kept me in a state of cheerfulness during the entire therapeutic activity, so I managed the entire therapeutic process with joy and I will never forget it. I would even really like it to be repeated, so I recommend it to every client with a serious physical disability. However, the condition of this therapeutic process is at least minimal involvement of the individual with a disability and also that you will be in a positive mood throughout the activity. I think that the positivity that you give to the therapeutic process helps the therapist a lot in his work, which is then reflected in the client's state of health.

Contact for those who would like to support me in therapy: diuska.k@gmail.com

Author: Mgr. Diana Kankulová Use the resources in the article: TheraSuit. Bratislava: Svetielko center for handicapped children [on-line]. [cited 2018-8-1]. Available online: (http://www.svetielko-po.sk/therasuit )