Research Assessment #4

Three Ways Technology Has Improved Physical Therapy Treatment

      Things have been getting very busy in ISM these past few weeks between conducting my own interviews and participating in the Business Symposium, so this is the first research assessment I’ve written in quite some time. Last time, I did some research on what it takes to become a physical therapist. This week, I explored how recent developments in technology have changed and improved the world of physical therapy and discovered that, as technology grows and improves, so does the field of physical therapy.
      The first - and in my opinion, the most exciting - type of new technology in the world of physical therapy is called Wii-Hab. Even the name is exciting! Wii-Hab uses Wii’s motion-sensitive controllers in order to allow patients to play games such as boxing and bowling that require the repetitive movements similar to the ones they would be completing in physical therapy (Bass, 2). Wii-Hab ‘gamifies’ physical therapy, which makes it much more fun and engaging for most people. It encourages competitiveness, but most importantly, Wii-Hab is incredibly effective when it comes to providing motivation for completing a patient’s home exercise program. As I mentioned in a previous assessment, the greatest disservice one can do to themselves in physical therapy is not completing their out of clinic workout plans because it slows recovery and damages progress. Wii-Hab actually makes doing assigned physical therapy fun and has prompted a great influx of patients being engaged in their recovery. One thing I know for certain is that if Wii-Hab had been an option during my ACL recovery program, I would have been a lot more excited about doing my exercises.
      The second kind of technological development that has benefited physical therapy is Virtual Reality. The usage of virtual reality has become more and more common in today’s society - my own family even has a virtual reality headset that we use for fun. Virtual reality creates an interactive and immersive computer generated world that allows you to see and do things that aren’t actually physically there (Bass, 2). In relation to physical therapy, virtual reality can put the patients in a much more engaging environment. For example, instead of being in a physical therapy clinic where I am doing my exercises, I could use virtual reality to put myself on a beach or a grassy plain. It can also ‘gamify’ physical therapy just like the Wii-Hab, however virtual reality creates a more immersive environment instead of a fun one. Physical therapists everywhere are beginning to utilize virtual reality in their programs and they are still working to improve and find more ways to use this incredible technology. Virtual reality has been used to treat stroke and trauma patients because it helps to diagnose and treat both musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. Perhaps, if my therapist had been aware of this method during my recovery, I could have used it and it would have made life a lot easier.
      A third kind of technological development that has improved physical therapy is Tele-Rehab. Telemedicine has been very important in the health care industries. Tele-Rehab allows patients on demand care, which leads to patients being more likely to see a doctor when they need to and complete their treatment plans (Bass, 3). This completely eliminates what keeps people from being motivated to go to physical therapy and do their exercises: no more driving, no physical therapy fear or embarrassment, and it is less time consuming! I cannot imagine how much more enthusiastic I would have been about my own physical therapy had I simply been able to do the whole session in my own house. This is, in my opinion, the best technological development for physical therapy because it gets rid of fears and encourages patients to attend their appointments and do their exercises.
      Physical therapy is always seeking new ways to improve treatment for patients, and technology keeps developing in order to provide us with the tools and opportunities to do so. Technology makes physical therapy more engaging, conviennent, and encouraging for everyone. The future of the field is in technology.