**Special Rehabilitation Treatment Methodology: INFINITY method® INFINITY method®**

**Special Rehabilitation Treatment Methodology:** 

Michaela Tomanova Michaela Tomanova Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

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204 Clinical Physical Therapy

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/67968

#### **Abstract**

The INFINITY method® is a special rehabilitation method developed at the Rehabilitation Institute in Brandys nad Orlici, Czech Republic. It is a kinesitherapy approach based on neurophysiology, biomechanics, and anatomy. The method is employed during rehabilitation of patients with functional and/or structural changes of the musculoskeletal system. It allows adjustment of the postural control system of the body, which gradually improves balance and symmetrization of the whole body in space, thus creating a precondition for better quality and more efficient movement. Specifically, therapy movements can be active and/or passive, and great variability of active movements is a perfect advantage for autotherapy. Now, the corrective therapeutic movement and posture can be conscious, meaning there is an increased awareness and control of the patient's whole body, and/or subconscious, which is based on a reflex therapy. In both cases, straightening and balancing of the patient's body are increased. This method positively affects the musculoskeletal system and quality of the soft tissue, such as the muscle and connective tissue. Thanks to its well-crafted methodology, easily practiced active exercises, and passive therapy performed with the help of a therapist, the method works well for patients with painful disorders of the spine and joints.

**Keywords:** INFINITY method®, low back pain, rehabilitation, musculoskeletal model, plantography, posturography

### **1. Introduction**

Traditional physical therapy or fitness training has emphasized strengthening of individual muscles. It has been proposed that the skill or the quality of the movement pattern that is used could be more important than achievement of muscle strength [1]. We have observed a demand for rehabilitation treatment based on the knowledge of modern science in our clinical

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

practice. Therefore, a new rehabilitation technique has been developed with emphasis on simple comprehensible principles, allowing a wide range of variations in therapy and exercises. The new method is applicable for patients with a limited range of motion, for patients after surgery, as well as for patients sustaining moderate diseases of the musculoskeletal system like low back pain (LBP). The new method can also be preventative, keeping people healthy and fit. The specific aim was to develop a large series of autotherapeutic exercises. The method has been developed, and we keep on improving it by incorporating original theoretical knowledge and experience gained in everyday clinical practice.

Our special rehabilitation method is called the INFINITY method®. Its name comes from the English word *infinity* because it utilizes movement in a figure of eight as a key segment of the exercises. The INFINITY method® is a special rehabilitation method developed at the Rehabilitation Institute in Brandys nad Orlici, Czech Republic.

The method has been verified in several clinical studies. We hypothesized that there would be certain differences in all measured values of patients before and after rehabilitation treatment with the INFINITY method®. The aim of one study was to confirm the relationship between the values of the center of force (COF) that were measured and the pain perceived by low back pain patients using a visual analogue scale (VAS), before and after therapy. The results were then used to assess the effectiveness of the INFINITY method® for treatment of patients with LBP [2]. This clinical study of 331 patients showed considerable improvement in all measured parameters. Characteristics of individual groups are described in **Table 1**.


**Table 1.** Characteristics of patients with low back pain.
