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History of Rehab Design Group, Inc. and the ColdCuff
The path of Rehab Design Group, Inc. and the ColdCuff was years in the making before the co-founders met. One of the founders, John Medeiros PT, PhD, had a long history of working in the Physical Therapy realm. He taught at Standford University, ran his own clinic, headed the Stanford Motion Analysis Lab, designed zero gravity exercise equipment for NASA, and for the past 20 years has been a Distinguished Professor of Physical Therapy at Pacific University in Hillsboro, Oregon.
Our other founder, Mike Bridges PT, DPT, also has an interesting background and took a different route. He graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and went to work for a top semi-truck design and manufacturing company. After spending a few years designing automotive equipment he decided it was time to switch gears. He realized that he would prefer a career where he could interact more with people and help them reach their goals. He went back to graduate school to become a Physical Therapist. Dr. Medeiros became his professor and mentor during PT school. Mike and Dr. Medeiros worked together on projects and Dr. M was Mike's thesis advisor. Mike loved physical therapy and his classmates voted him "Most likely to create the next PT gadget" .
After graduation Mike, now Dr. Mike Bridges, became a staff Physical Therapist specializing in Orthopedics with a special interest in shoulder and foot/ankle sport related injuries. Little did he know he was about to become his own patient. Mike was diagnosed with SLAP and Bankart type tears of his right shoulder, the results of earlier sports injuries. Surgery was the only option and Mike was stuck at home in a sling for four weeks while recovering. He now realized the extent of how painful shoulder surgery can be. During this time at home he began to design various products and had several ideas. He especially wanted to design a cold pack sling for the shoulder that the patient could use while sitting at a desk, walking, and engaging in normal daily activities. Using a bit of elastic, safety pins and duct tape, he made a crude prototype which he took to his old professor. It was a sling that could be easily handled by a patient after surgery, would apply mild compression, and most importantly, would keep the cold pack in place to help reduce shoulder pain. They agreed that it was a great design and one that someone should have come up with long ago. A seamstress neighbor of Dr. M's, who also loved the simple design, sewed the first of several prototypes and thus the ColdCuff was launched.
Since there are approximately 20 million American suffering from shoulder pain due to shoulder surgery, impingement, bursitis, tendinitis, and osteoarthritis the partners are hoping their inexpensive sling cold pack pouch will help many people. They are now manufacturing them in larger quantities in a small town in Oregon.
Please visit our Products link for current list of available products.