Physical therapy is one of the most rapidly expanding fields in healthcare today. It should come as no surprise then that it is a field rife with new and exciting technological advancements that enable patients to make physical gains that were inconceivable just decades ago. If the past is any indication of the future, we can expect to see even more innovation for the field of physical therapy in the years to come.
Computerized Exercise Equipment
One of the most widespread advancements in physical therapy technology today is the use of computerized exercise equipment that can recognize a patient, recall his or her treatment plan, and evaluate his or progress. Though these machines cannot take the place of a licensed physical therapist, they can certainly make his job a lot easier and help patients take more active and independent roles in the progression of their rehabilitation plan. For example, a patient who is working on leg-strengthening may step on to a treadmill and type in a password; immediately, the treadmill retrieves the patient’s individual information including the specific exercise regimen prescribed for the day. The patient can then quickly begin his therapy session, completing the time and distance requirements at the speed and intensity recommended by the therapist.
Motion Analysis and Capture
A technology with far-reaching implications, motion analysis and capture, sometimes referred to as mocap, is frequently used by the film industry to create 3-D movie characters. The medical industry has found ways to put this relatively new technology to even better uses, including helping physical therapists evaluate a patient’s movements and balance. Motion analysis and capture technology is often used in stroke rehabilitation to establish a starting point for the patient, design a rehabilitation program, and evaluate his or her progress. Through the use of special sensors or platforms, the therapist can track a patient’s gait, movement, and balance, transfer them to image or video files, and then watch and analyze them as many times as necessary to make a proper determination of the patient’s current functionality and design an individualized treatment plan for the patient’s recovery.
Robotic Therapy
A new and growing branch of physical therapy, robotic therapy offers rehab patients capabilities once thought to be only possible in movies. Although prosthetics have been around for decades and have provided amazing benefits to individuals who have lost an arm or a leg, robotic prosthetics offer much more than just a helping hand. The newest concepts in this field can actually deliver sensory input to the patient’s brain just as a real arm or leg would do. And robotic therapy is not just for prosthetics either. New robotics technology for stroke victims helps them regain mobility in their arms through an interactive video-game-like device which prompts the patient to move their hand in a certain direction and even provides them with sensory prompts as needed. Research and experimentation is ongoing to determine the implications robotics therapy can have for other areas of physical therapy as well.
Anti-Gravity Treadmills
Not surprisingly, this gravity-defying contraption was first conceptualized by NASA and was intended to enable astronauts to exercise in space. What NASA didn’t realize at the time was that this new technology would have important implications for the field of physical therapy as well. The concept is actually very simple; through an air-compressed device at the base of the treadmill, the patient is allowed to relieve a significant percentage of his body weight, allowing exercises such as walking and jogging to be much less strenuous, an important consideration for someone learning how to walk again after a surgery or injury. It also helps patients resume their normal gait much quicker than they would be able to otherwise, lessening the chance that they will develop a limp (something that can be very hard to reverse). Although these treadmills are not yet widely available, they are projected to become more commonplace in the years to come.
The newest technological advancements available to physical therapists and their patients are truly changing the face of physical therapy. Medical universities and corporations continue to conduct research and develop concepts that will continue to test the limits of what physical therapy can offer patients in terms of pain relief, independence, and increased mobility.
References
Anti-Gravity Treadmill Helps Injured get Moving Again. Denverpost.com. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/rss/ci_17107585?source=rss.
Physical therapy: Technology on PT duty. DOTmed.com. Retrieved from http://www.dotmed.com/news/story/12652/.
Robotic Therapy Helps Stroke Patients Regain Function. MIT News. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/stroke-therapy-0419.html.
Stroke Therapy: New Trends, Technology, and Tactics. Physical Therapy Products. Retrieved from http://www.ptproductsonline.com/issues/articles/2009-01_06.asp