POSITION PAPER #4

 The Future of Physical Therapy:

Virtual Reality as a Rehabilitation Tool

Recovery after a traumatizing injury or disaster can sometimes take many years and is an extremely difficult process. Trying to relearn simple motor movements and redeveloping muscular movements can be strenuous and hard on the patient not only physically, but also mentally. When we think about the traditional physical therapy, we may all have the same picture in our heads. A big room with white walls and plenty of exercise equipment laying around. While our physical therapists do a great job in their field, this traditional form of therapy can make it difficult for the patient to be motivated to continue recovery and can also make it difficult for the patient’s body to actually understand what to do when he gets home or has to do this on his own.

    One newer form of technology that researchers are now seeing as a promising form of treatment in the physical therapy world is Virtual Reality (VR). An article from the Dartmouth website highlights that VR “stimulates the senses of the user, specifically affecting their sight and hearing and retraining their brain to receive and process sensory information.” VR can even be applied to specific therapeutic needs in order to stimulate these certain senses. For example, patients who are in physical therapy because they have a limited range of motion can be put into some sort of virtual reality environment that senses their reduced motion and responds by doing the entire movement. This allows the patient to visualize the exact movement that they are striving to make. 

    Other than the fact that virtual reality rehabilitation tends to be much more fun than the traditional therapy, there are also many other benefits to this form of rehabilitation. Not only does VR based therapy provide a “positive learning experience” and is engaging and motivating, it also can improve the rate at which patients heal and recover. There have been studies that show VR physical therapy helps patients heal at a higher rate and greatly improves motor skills throughout the patient’s rehab. Another reason that VR is extremely helpful is because of the environment that the patient is put in. After a serious accident or traumatic event, many people’s mental health is at an all time low.

    Going into a room every day to do exercises that they sometimes do not even see the point in can hinder the patient’s ability to recover quickly. I can relate to this personally. In my junior year of high school, I tore my ACL during a basketball game. I had to go physical therapy every day after school for months and, while I loved the therapists that helped me through my injury, I also struggled with motivation to get through the rehabilitation process. Other than wanting to play basketball again as soon as possible, there was not much motivating me to get through the exercises. 

    However, I feel that if I had even a small amount of access to VR during my recovery, I would have had much more motivation to actually go to physical therapy. My injury, in the grand scheme of things, was not nearly as bad as someone who may have suffered a stroke or a tragic car accident. I can definitely see how people in those situations would be more motivated by the fun environment that VR puts them in during therapy. With this VR based therapy, the technology can be specifically catered to the patient’s needs. Not only does this allow for a quicker recovery, but it also allows them to continuously do the specific exercises they need, but they get to do it all while in an interactive and fun atmosphere.

 

    There is a group of researchers that developed a biomechanics sensor node (BSN) that can be applied to this new technology. The BSN helps in three-dimensional spatial recognition, which allows for more finely-tuned tracking in VR. BSN would help with VR care because it allows for more targeted care by helping doctors detect more specific motions. Virtual Reality is already an advanced technology in this age, and BSN would help to bring it even a step further than where it is right now. 

    One more advantage of VR based physical therapy is the ability of the therapists to track progress even if it is remotely. In the United States, roughly 20% of the population lives in rural areas. In many of these places, especially in the elderly population, it can be difficult to make it to the nearest physical therapist and many do not have easy access to one. With VR technology, patients who might not be able to leave the house as much or who have limited physical therapy resources can still go through rehabilitation and recovery without the hassle of trying to make it to the actual physical therapy building. With VR, physical therapists can assign workouts and exercises via the technology as well as monitor their patients’ daily routine throughout the week. 

    We have looked at many benefits of VR based physical therapy and, while I believe this technology would be a fantastic tool moving forward in the world of physical therapy, there is one con to the idea that I believe needs to be taken into consideration. That con is the loss of jobs that would inevitably happen if VR became the main tool used in physical therapy. VR is a cheaper option because it means there are less people being paid for the job. While that is great for the businesses, it can hurt peoples’ chances of actually getting a job as a physical therapist if more businesses become reliant on VR technology. It is important to think about whether or not you should go with the cheaper and more advanced option which is VR, or if you want to stay with the one on one human interaction that can also be helpful in motivating a patient to succeed. 

    Overall, I think VR based rehabilitation in physical therapy is an extremely

promising step towards the future. Not only would this allow more people to grow their technology knowledge and adapt to the growing age of technology, but it also presents many benefits that would help both patients and doctors in the process of recovery. That being said, I believe that physical therapy companies and programs should look deeply into all options and decide which would be best for their company and, most importantly, their patients.