At our Intrepid Spirit Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the latest equipment upgrades (made possible through the generous support of our donors) have just arrived! They are already being incorporated into treatments for our wounded service members afflicted with the invisible wounds of war. While a workout bench and rowing machine might be standard equipment at your local gym, adding them into the physical therapy (PT) area of the center will help to enhance the way physical therapists and other clinicians at the Intrepid Spirit Center treat the symptoms our wounded warriors are experiencing.
We’ve previously shined a spotlight on how PT helps treat TBIs at our Intrepid Spirit Centers and as we’ve explained, the centers’ physical therapists are presented with a unique challenge when working with traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. A TBI can cause issues that require PT, but begin in the brain. For example, when treating a simple broken bone, PT may assist with mobility impairment caused by the injury. However with a TBI, patients may experience the addition of balance, coordination, and other issues in addition to their mobility impairment.
It’s important to remember that the goals of PT are different for service members in treatment at our centers than for civilians. Maintaining fitness standards and returning to “normal” workouts are often central to physical therapy practices for our service members. Those mandated fitness standards are an essential part of many service members’ work duties, and being able to return to those standards is crucial to their recovery.
For physical therapists treating TBIs at our centers, two of the symptoms that injured service members frequently complain of are dizziness and imbalance. In the center’s PT area, the equipment helps both examine what causes dizziness and imbalance, and works on treating these symptoms. The newly arrived workout bench and rowing machine will help further analyze and address these symptoms.
Coordination can be another major issue as a result of sustaining a TBI. That can include balancing weight in both arms, in fitness scenarios and beyond the gym. Some service members have expressed issues with using dumbbells for their workouts because of these coordination issues. Things like this couldn’t previously be assessed by clinicians prior to the arrival of the new workout bench. And yes, it’s a standard workout bench that can be found at most local fitness facilities. However in a physical therapy capacity, especially one that focuses on TBIs, its role is different. One cause of dizziness, especially in a fitness setting, can be through improper breathing techniques. Previously, clinicians could only ask about breathing while performing certain exercises in certain capacities. With a workout bench incorporated, patients can perform exercises at different inclines, and PTs can observe breathing techniques during these exercises and step in to correct improper technique. This is just one way that post-TBI dizziness can be identified and treated through the use of this equipment.
The workout bench serves purposes beyond just helping with breathing techniques and dizziness. Post-TBI service members also often complain of the onset of poor coordination. This leads to decreased confidence in carrying heavier weights, especially in separate hands. Therefore, it’s common to see a regression from using dumbbells to using a barbell instead, since both arms maintain the weight of a barbell. The workout bench can help to examine these issues and lead to exercises and practices to help resolve these issues and restore confidence.
The other piece of new equipment, the rowing machine, can help treat and monitor the intensity of dizziness experienced by service members. Peripheral stimulation, which is movement in our side vision, is a stimulus that can cause dizziness for many service members that come through the Intrepid Spirit Center for treatment. In treatment, it’s easy to create these stimuli at extremely low speeds, but it gets more difficult at higher speeds, which are not uncommon in day-to-day life both on and off the battlefield. The rower can help create faster speeds for the implementation of peripheral stimulation in a safe and effective environment for recovery.
These upgrades and improvements to the twelve centers the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund has built over the last two decades are made possible by contributions from people like you. These centers serve, transform, and save the lives of our wounded military service members, experiencing both severe physical and invisible wounds of war. It is because of this support that their existence and continued life-saving work has been possible.
Posted on September 18 2025 in Blog
