When discussing physical therapy, it’s important to acknowledge that the stakes are high. Every day, thousands of people either are referred to a physical therapist, or partake in some physical therapy for their injuries. The success of their physical therapy has a pivotal impact on the rest of their lives. Will they have to change their line of work, will moving around be an issue, how will this effect their family life? With such important considerations – we cannot afford to let physical therapy fall through the cracks. Historically, physical therapists have been handicapped by technology, and your recovery might be suffering because of it.
What Goes into Traditional Physical Therapy?
Traditional physical therapy relies heavily on two things: Patient feedback, and patient compliance. Patient feedback is a common metric in traditional physical therapy to measure progress, but usually, it’s just a guess. Asking a patient to assess their own pain levels and progress can result in wildly different assessments from patient to patient. Patients are not trained in physical therapy, have different pain thresholds, hold themselves to different standards, and are often out of their element when it comes to providing this feedback.
Patient compliance on the other hand, is problematic for a whole different reason. Exercises are difficult to remember and perform correctly, and they’re simply boring. Especially when your physical therapist is not there to guide you through important movements, treatment regiments fall off course and the already fraying system begins to unravel even more.
Virtual Reality Powered Physical Therapy as a Solution
Traditional physical therapy has shown that it cannot solve these problems – virtual reality however can. Through carefully designed VR environments, games, and exercises we can bring physical therapy into the 21st century. Where it may be difficult to remember how to perform a shoulder exercise, it’s much easier to swing a sword and pop a perfectly placed balloon, mimicking the exercise in VR. Patient compliance soars when games are fun and gripping. Patient feedback takes a back seat, as the virtual reality system tracks your precise movements and turns your therapy into actionable data. This data is like giving super-powers to your therapist, who is then always tuned in to your progress and can finally use their skills to give you the recovery you need. Efficient, engaging, and completely intuitive. VR Telehealth is changing the way physical therapy is done.
