Gripeeze - Unique Glove

Stuart Walsh has developed a glove for patients with bad grip problems. It has helped window cleaners, and many people who can't move their fingers.

Widnes bricklayer transforms peoples' lives with his unique glove: A Widnes bricklayer has made dreams come true for paralysed patients, wounded soldiers and stroke victims who feared they would never play sport again. Stuart Walsh, aged 48, has invented a glove which locks your grip in place with a velcro strap. It has enabled a 29-year-old investment banker who broke his back after a fall to play golf, a young boy with multiple sclerosis to ride a bike and injured servicemen to use rowing machines in the gym.

He has adapted his idea to create elastic tube grips and fingerless mittens for people crippled with arthritis to do everyday tasks like brushing their hair, painting and gardening. Stuart sold his house to develop eight 'Gripeeze' products with his company Grip Aid Limited and has just achieved his biggest breakthrough - the chance to demonstrate them himself on the TV shopping channel QVC. He came up with the idea after injuring his own hand at work.

Stuart Walsh with some of his gloves.

Stuart, from Hough Green, said: "I had been on a jackhammer for two days and damaged tendons at the bottom of my finger. My hand swelled up like a ball and I couldn't bend my fingers. "I went to Widnes Market, got a wooly mitten and strapped my hand onto a trowel. It was simple and crude but it worked." He realised his invention could help others so he paid £28,000 for a patent and found a manufacturer in Pakistan to fine tune his designs.

He has an office in West Bank and now works with therapists in14 hospitals and Headley Court defence medical rehabilitation centre. Stuart added: "If people have a stroke or arthritis, this glove gives them an instant grip. They have got a usable hand back. It locks you onto that object. You can let go and the glove does all the work. It takes away the repetitive strain.

"I've had letters from people saying it has changed their lives, given them back their independence and dignity. "It is very satisfying to think that my little glove could have so many applications. It has helped window cleaners, fishermen and many people who can't move their fingers. "I've just done a screen test with QVC. They say when it goes out they could sell 1,000 a minute. It's incredible."

The Perfect Arthritis, Rehabilitation & Daily Living Aids: Gripeeze is a range of specially designed gloves, mittens and medical devices used to help those that suffer from conditions affecting the function of the hands. Manufactured by Grip Aid the Gripeeze range has proudly been approved by healthcare professionals for the rehabilitation of patients that have one of the numerous conditions that can affect the use of the hands.

The patented strapping design of all Gripeeze® products give you the ultimate hold and are purpose built for a variety of activities. For better comfort and durability we selected a variety of choice materials for our range so that you will find our devices comfortable, practical and easy to use with maximum results and minimum effort. 

Our devices, mittens and gloves are discrete and very simple to put on with minimal effort and without any discomfort. Gripeeze is the most affordable solution for a better quality of life for many people that have problems with using their hands and helping those people get back their independence.

For sufferers of arthritis which ever device, mitten or glove you choose you can be certain that you will immediately be relieved of any aching joints or strain from your hands, by simple applying the strapping making our products more popular amongst the elderly generation for use as a daily living aid.   

Problems Grip Aid gloves solve:

• Helps to get people back to physical activity
• Enhances grip control on a number of objects
• Improves sports performance & general activity
• Aids in rehabilitation & sports injury
• Lessens the chances of long term injury
• Combats RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)

An Equipment Failure & New Window Cleaning Record?

George Lynn is going for a Guinness world record for cleaning windows.

Window record open: Most 63-year-olds with rheumatoid arthritis would be more than happy to put their feet up and relax in their retirement days. George Lynn, however, is not your average 63-year-old.

The Mirrabooka pensioner has now travelled across Australia four times in an effort to establish a Guinness world record for the most windows washed in a year. The window-washing bug first bit him in 1988, when he stopped over in Abu Dhabi with no local currency. “I was in the airport with no local currency, and I found a café owner that spoke English, and I asked him if he could make me a cup of tea if I washed his windows,” he said. “He told me he’d make me a cup of tea and also give me five dollars – and I’ve been washing windows ever since.”

Despite his severe arthritis, George is aiming to wash one million windows between Australia Day 2012 and Australia Day 2013. “I’ve already done 4000 windows so far, so I am going to have a decent crack at it,” he said. “In four attempts I’ve not managed to get upwards of one million – but I’m hoping my luck will change this year. “I’ve got all the documentation I need, I just need to get the windows done.”

George charges $2 per window, with one third going to the RFDS, one third going to the Cancer Council and one third to himself. “I can assure you I’m not making a quid out of it. It’s just enough to support my pension and keep me washing windows.”

Crane malfunctioned atop San Francisco high rise: A crane accident happened in the Financial District Sunday around 2:30 p.m. A crane came loose dangled off a high rise at the corner of California and Kearny streets. About five tons of mechanical equipment inside a container dangled off the side of the Bank of America building, near the top, right over Kearney Street. Workers told ABC7 they were installing new window washing gear on the roof of the Bank of America building and have been doing it for the past three days, but they said the load that got stuck was the heaviest load they've lifted so far. The weight proved to be too much for the crane. The container weighs 11,000 pounds and it was dangling over 500 feet in the air. "It contains two spools of wire weighing about 11,000 pounds and the winch snapped, so now the only way they can get it up there is they're going to have to hand crank it. It's about 100 feet they have to bring it up. It's going to take about 3-3.5 hours. There's no danger right now. We've got everything locked down, we've got traffic and pedestrians out of the area. We've got officers at all the corners to make sure that nobody gets in there," said San Francisco Police Sgt. Joe Fisher. There were two men cranking the container up and around 6 p.m. they were moving it at a rate of 20 feet in an hour. This caused traffic jams all over the area and Chinatown.

Balloons & Gels May Help Window Cleaners With Tendonitis & OsteoArthritis

How a balloon could lift pain from your shoulders: A small balloon is the latest tool for tackling chronic shoulder pain. The balloon is implanted in the shoulder and then pumped with fluid to the size of a small orange. This then acts as a cushion between the bone and damaged muscle and tendons, preventing further damage and allowing the inflamed tissue to heal. Around one in five Britons develops shoulder pain at some time; the most common cause in the over-40s is a rotator cuff injury. The rotator cuff is the group of muscles and tendons which secures the top of the arm into the shoulder joint.

Common rotator cuff injuries include tendonitis - where the tendons become inflamed through being overused or overloaded - and bursitis, where a fluid-filled pad that cushions the tendons becomes irritated and inflamed. A fall or lifting too heavy an item can also cause tears in the muscles or tendons of the cuff. Rotator cuff injuries become more common with age because tendons and muscles weaken. Sportsmen and women involved in activities which require repetitive movements of the shoulders such as rowing and swimming, or people whose jobs require reaching, such as painting and window cleaning, are particularly at risk.

Some conditions including rheumatoid and osteoarthritis can also make injury more likely. Although a rotator cuff injury can be treated with anti-inflammatory medication and physical therapy, in some cases surgery remains the only option. Traditionally, this involves repairing any tears in the muscles or removing worn bone that may be jutting out and causing muscles and tendons to snag on it. However, this carries the risks associated with a general anaesthetic. The new device, on trial at four centres in Italy and Israel, can be implanted as an outpatient under local anaesthetic. The treatment is aimed at increasing the size of the space between the bone and cuff to reduce contact and therefore pain.

During the trial, patients had a tiny incision made in the skin using a special hollow implanting tool. When it reached the rotator cuff, a folded and deflated balloon was inserted through the tool and left at the tip. A syringe connected to the other end of the implanting tool was then used to inflate the balloon using saline solution. The procedure takes around ten minutes. Once inflated, the balloon - developed by Israel-based BioProtect - acts as a barrier between the injured tissue and the bone, allowing it to heal. Over time the balloon degrades, although research from pilot studies suggests that the benefits of the extra room in the shoulder remain - so, in theory, preventing the problem happening again. A spokeswoman for Arthritis Research UK, which funds research into rotator cuff injuries, said the device sounded promising. 'We will be interested to see the outcome of the trial, and most importantly whether the beneficial effects are sustained once the balloon degrades.'

A gel injected into the knee could help prevent osteoarthritis. The liquid gel turns into a solid once inside the joint and creates a kind of scaffold that helps new cartilage grow. Cartilage acts as the body's shock absorber, stopping bones rubbing together. But once it has been damaged or worn away, it is not very good at regenerating. The new gel - developed at the Northwestern University in IIllinois, U.S. - addresses that problem. Once the gel sets, it forms a kind of fibrous matrix made up of hundreds of tiny tunnels. A special ingredient in the gel then binds to certain growth factors in the blood - these are chemicals that, in high quantities, can stimulate the production of new cartilage. With a high level of growth factors 'trapped' in the matrix, cartilage cells begin to thrive. The gel, which is still undergoing testing, could be available in three to five years.

Also click below to see the article from American Window Cleaner Magazine.