SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Wow, Its like looking at a miracle, isnt it, said Cheryl Jennings, co-anchor of ABC 7 News. She was referring to reporter Carolyn Johnsons Health & Science segment on BalanceWear, a semi-custom made orthotic that has helped dramatically improve stability in patients with MS, Parkinsons disease, stroke, TBI, ataxia and other Sensory Based Motor Disorders (SBMD).

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For patients suffering from multiple sclerosis or other degenerative diseases, just controlling their own bodies can be a challenge. But now, a simple device invented in the Bay Area is helping a growing number of those patients move far more smoothly, Johnson says as she introduces viewers to Mary Spencer, a woman who suffers with balance issues caused by Multiple Sclerosis and to physical therapist Cindy Gibson-Horn, creator of BalanceWear.

"You can't tell what direction is what. Your body doesn't know what's up or down," says Mary.

Directional loss is a symptom of several Sensory Based Motor Disorders. As the patient walks, he or she becomes preoccupied with their movements, trying to compensate with every step in order to keep from falling. Gibson-Horn discovered that small, strategically placed weights applied to BalanceWear helps to adjust directional loss. Her research led to the discovery of Balance-Based Torso Weighting (BBTW), a breakthrough that has been noticed by doctors and researchers. Recently, a National Institutes of Health Recovery Grant of just under $400,000 was awarded to Samuel Merritt University (SMU) Physical Therapy Professor Dr. Gail Widener, PT, and Dr. Diane Allen at San Francisco State University to continue research into Balance-Based Torso Weighting (BBTW) and its effects on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) mobility challenges. The first phase of the study validates previous research funded by the National MS Society. The research is currently in its second phase and has led to documented evidence of the efficacy of prior clinical observations.

"If you think about balance, it's the foundation of movement. So you couldn't even sit, unless you had balance," Gibson-Horn tells Johnson. "If the patient has a balance problem, and we can identify the directional losses of balance, then we can treat those imbalances by strategically placing light weights in BalanceWear and immediately you'll know whether or not your patient is going to experience balance improvement."

Steve Cookston, CEO of Motion Therapeutics, the company that manufactures and markets BalanceWear, has spent years in the medical device field. BalanceWear has the remarkable ability to change a persons life by simply being fitted for the vest, says Cookston. It requires no downtime, drugs or special care. It is designed and manufactured to insure that the patients balance is dramatically improved immediately and that is what makes us all enthusiastically committed to this product.

Says Johnson, For Spencer, the results have already been life changing.

"I have the freedom to move without thinking, 'Where do I need to be? How do I need to stand?'" Spencer explains.

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ABC News Profiles BalanceWear® and the Benefits for Multiple Sclerosis Patients