29/06/2022
The crucial role of physiotherapists in COVID-19 recovery
While 2020 has been an unprecedented year for everyone around the world, this is especially true for the health workforce who worked tirelessly in the fight against COVID-19. The pandemic forced health professionals to stop, reflect and quickly adapt to the new conditions, and be able to treat their patients. Medical procedures that were considered non urgent were postponed, overall physical interactions between patients and therapists drastically reduced, and general public physical and mental health declined. Numerous lockdowns made sport & fitness activities difficult to conduct, and as a result the general public became less active, thus increasingly unwell & unfit.
This became an even bigger challenge for physiotherapists throughout the pandemic. COVID-19 patients suffer from fever or chills, cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; Muscle or body aches as well as Headache. In the mid term, patients might gain weight and lose muscle mass, suffer from stiff joints and stamina decrease, which limits them in conducting physical activities and worsen already existing medical conditions.
As a result, recovery can take longer, from weeks to months, and require consistent practice. The challenge for physiotherapists, who usually cannot see their patients on a daily basis, is assuring that the patients conduct those crucial exercises everyday. The only way to recover and to get stronger is to walk and exercise daily, “a little and often”. Persistence is a key factor. However, lack of motivation and supervision by medical personnel is a serious challenge.
At VR STEPS we created a virtual rehabilitation platform designed for home use. Quick and costless to start, allowing to upgrade and scale if needed. With a dynamic virtual environment and high-quality 3D animations guiding patients to perform their exercises, our platform empowers therapists and allows them to treat their patients remotely when no other alternatives exist.
Take a virtual step into the future of rehabilitation.
https://www.vrsteps.co/