“From a Medical Assistant in a Wheelchair to a Fitness Trainer and Movement Therapist”

My name is Sabine Kaiser-Hirsch. I was born in 1964, live in the Lüneburg Heath, and worked professionally for nearly 20 years as a medical assistant. After that, I was a housewife and mother. Unfortunately, despite my medical background, I have had to go through a great deal health-wise in my life.

At the age of 19, I was confined to a wheelchair for more than four weeks due to a herniated disc with complete paralysis of my left leg and ultimately had to undergo surgery. As a result of this paralysis, permanent neurological damage remained, including partial numbness in my leg. Among other things, the foot lifter no longer functions.

Due to a car accident, I suffered severe damage to my cervical spine, which not only led to intense migraines but also caused neurological impairments in my fingers (they would go numb). Again and again, I experienced severe pain throughout my entire body and had to undergo a wide range of therapies, whose “successes,” unfortunately, were always only short-lived.

In addition, I developed intestinal problems, underwent several abdominal surgeries, and eventually suffered from severe depression (2006) — the full program. Altogether, I have had to endure more than 20 surgeries in my life.

Then, in 2012, we happened to come across some extraordinary sports equipment — the smoveys — invented in Austria by a tennis coach who suffered from Parkinson’s disease.

What started as a fun leisure activity (WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING MORE ABOUT IT) quickly turned out to be a successful form of pain therapy for me. About four months later, more or less by coincidence (pain eventually becomes a habit), I realized that I had already been completely pain-free for quite some time — NOTHING HURT ANYMORE!!!

The smoveys had given me an indescribable quality of life, and as a former medical assistant, I happily decided to pass this quality of life on to other people.

I completed the coach training and gradually began building various courses. The path was difficult, as hardly anyone knew smoveys at the time and people are naturally skeptical.

However, because of my own smovey STORY, I was and still am very authentic. Most people immediately noticed how much passion and knowledge I brought into my training. This allowed me to pave my own way. The feedback was and still is fantastic and, in many cases, aligns closely with my own experiences.

Everything went well — until March 8, 2015 …

In a severe inline skating accident, I hit the upper part of my back on cobblestones and fractured my seventh thoracic vertebra. After six days in the hospital, I was discharged without surgery but tightly strapped into a steel corset. Since I did not want to lose any unnecessary time, I immediately contacted a specialized spine surgery clinic (Schön Klinik in Neustadt/Holstein).

IN SHORT:

Outpatient appointment. The doctor examined me thoroughly, asked about my profession, showed interest in the smoveys (received my flyer), researched them out of curiosity, and then called me at home four days later, after reviewing my MRI scans, and said:

“Ms. Kaiser-Hirsch, I didn’t want to wait until your next appointment to share this good news with you. Training with your smoveys has definitely protected you from severe consequences of the accident. You have trained such strong deep muscles with the rings that your vertebra was protected and stabilized during impact as if by a corset. Without this excellent muscular and physical condition, you might have ended up back in a wheelchair — or permanently — or I would have had to implant titanium rods.”

Three months later, I was allowed to remove the steel corset, slowly swing my way back into life, and gradually resume my courses — something like this had never happened before.

CONCLUSION:

• In my 8th year as a smovey COACH

• In my 8th year COMPLETELY PAIN-FREE

• In my 8th year WITHOUT conventional medical medication

• In my 8th year PHYSICALLY & MENTALLY COMPLETELY SYMPTOM-FREE

• In my 8th year GRATEFUL & HAPPY

Still healthy and active today, still completely pain-free, and in top shape without any medication at all!!!

Warmest regards

Patient W.A., 83 years old; condition following an apoplectic stroke with right-sided hemiparesis

Initial assessment:
Gait instability; walks with a forearm four-point support or uses a wheelchair; unable to climb stairs (apartment on the 1st floor); swollen right foot—slipper could not be put on; despite occupational therapy, hardly any gross motor skills and no fine motor skills in the right hand; right shoulder complaints.

My first patient using smovey®:

After the first regular swinging sessions—approximately 5 minutes, twice a week during therapy, using parallel and cross swings while seated on a chair—the shoe fit again! This convinced both my patient and his wife, and they purchased a pair of rings.

The patient was then able to practice independently.

Gradually, the patient became more confident. He was able to manage the stairs with assistance and could also go out onto the balcony (there is a step). Gross and fine motor skills of the hand also improved, and the shoulder complaints almost completely disappeared.

Over time, he was also able to swing while standing. At the beginning of the year, the patient surprised me by climbing the stairs using alternating steps, which had previously not been possible. In addition, he is now able to write again to some extent (signature on a prescription) and enthusiastically solves Sudoku puzzles.

Unfortunately, I do not know his current condition, as I have been denied access to the nursing home where he has been living since February.

LISA, age: mid-30s, profession: paramedic

(Sabine Kaiser-Hirsch, smovey® COACH, fascia trainer, and movement therapist since 2013, reports first-hand about a course participant)

Lisa (name changed) is 35 years old, a paramedic with a truck driver’s license. Five years ago, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) completely unexpectedly, literally from one day to the next.

• Her right eye suddenly developed problems—initially flickering, etc.
  Then her vision rapidly deteriorated, and a specialized clinic diagnosed MS.

• Within a short period of time, she was almost blind in that eye and was treated with high-dose cortisone.

• The usual treatments followed… improvement… medication adjustment… vision improved again… glasses… etc.

• Then, almost every year at roughly the same time (January/February), a new relapse occurred.

• In addition to pain, severe balance disorders developed, as the sensorimotor communication between the brain and the legs became increasingly impaired by the disease.

• Furthermore, there was hypersensitivity of the skin over the entire body (even with light touch), and the Raynaud’s syndrome occurred more and more frequently (a vascular disorder in which hands and feet suddenly feel lifeless due to extreme circulatory disturbances).

…then, in late summer 2015, she met me.

She was immediately interested in smovey® and attended a one-time trial session.

Five days later, I met her while shopping. Beaming with joy, she told me how good the training had been for her and that she had, unbelievably, needed NO medication for three full days afterward!

(It should be noted that, due to her profession, she knows her body very well and is fully aware of what she is doing.)

She immediately signed up for my courses and also purchased her own smoveys.

According to her own reports, she initially practiced smovey training every day, morning and evening, for 10–15 minutes each, with the duration gradually increasing.

On the last course evening (after 2 × 10 training sessions), she stood swinging on a balance board and happily reported in front of the entire group:

• She needs significantly less medication

• She has hardly any side effects from the medication she still takes

• The severe balance disorders, caused by the disease-related disruption of sensorimotor communication between the brain and the musculoskeletal system/legs, have improved significantly.
  Her entire gait has become much more stable, and she hardly stumbles anymore!

People around her noticed this as well; many commented on it, and her treating physician was absolutely delighted.

STATUS: DECEMBER 2016

Lisa visited me and reported in a detailed conversation:

• She had NO NEW RELAPSE in 2016!!!!!

• She needs significantly less medication / painkillers

• She walks very securely (improved sensorimotor function)

• When her extremities begin to get cold again (loss of sensation), they become warm and well-circulated again relatively quickly through smovey training

• Her eyesight has improved so much that her expired truck driver’s license was thoroughly reviewed and renewed without objection, allowing her to continue driving an ambulance as a paramedic.

STATUS: AUTUMN 2019

I happened to see Lisa again, and she was still doing well under the circumstances.

In the meantime, she has even become a mother, and her pregnancy did not worsen her condition, which can often be the case.

She now gives lectures about MS in hospitals and rehabilitation clinics—and EVERY TIME, SHE HAS HER SMOVEYS WITH HER

2. Patient W.R., 76 years old; condition following poliomyelitis at the age of 4 (so-called post-polio syndrome); disc surgery L4/L5

Initial assessment:
The patient has had various physical limitations throughout his life (clubfeet treated orthopedically) as well as coordination deficits. With increasing age, gait instability (uses a cane) and loss of strength have developed.

During the weekly therapy sessions, I repeatedly incorporated short smovey® units to make the program more varied. Mr. R. always practiced standing exercises, including parallel, cross, and horizontal swings, as well as swings combined with leg movements.

The patient enjoys the training very much and was able to achieve a small increase in strength.

His gait instability decreased, and his coordination also improved. In the meantime, the patient has purchased his own pair of rings in order to practice on days without therapy as well.

4. Patient A.B., 79 years old; condition following a left humeral head fracture (multi-fragmented)

Initial assessment:
The patient was originally very active and still working part-time. After a fall due to icy conditions, she sustained the above-mentioned fracture. The arm was immobilized in a Gilchrist sling for 14 days, which resulted in severe swelling of the hand and forearm as well as significant restrictions in movement. Physiotherapy and manual lymphatic drainage were prescribed.

After initially focusing primarily on passive treatment measures, the attending physician changed the therapy approach after approximately three weeks to physiotherapy according to Poelchen, using pendulum exercises. At first, I introduced the smovey® rings very cautiously. As there were no negative changes, we gradually became more confident and, after eight weeks, achieved very good and almost pain-free mobility.

At that point, the patient had already returned to her job and was again able to engage in her beloved gardening activities. The swelling had almost completely subsided (only the index finger was still swollen). The X-ray follow-up after ten weeks showed a solid result and good stability.

After twelve weeks, mobility was almost normal (with the exception of putting hair rollers in her hair). After six months, the patient was also able to return to her club sports activities.

3. Patient H.O., 89 years old; condition following brain surgery (aneurysm);
progressive hearing loss and visual impairment, resulting in gait instability;
osteoarthritis of both hip joints; osteochondrosis of the spine

Initial assessment:
The patient comes to therapy accompanied by his wife, as he has poor vision and is very insecure when walking. He has coordination deficits and is weary of life.

During the weekly therapy sessions, smovey® rings were repeatedly used, and he clearly enjoyed the training. Each week, he looked forward to his therapy sessions. As he had already been doing a short morning exercise routine for a long time, he very much wanted to have the rings himself (his wife was initially opposed due to the price).

In addition to improving coordination, it was particularly important to me to focus on postural alignment of the spine with Mr. O. Due to his visual impairment and age, we initially practiced seated on a chair, which he continues to do at home.

Occasionally, he also practiced standing exercises, but he was very anxious while doing so. Eventually, he was able to convince his wife to purchase the rings, and he now practices daily at home.