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Games for Physical Therapy: From Fun to Functional

Updated: Jul 12, 2023

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Without going too much in the past, we can say that Physical therapy and Occupational therapy have changed a lot in the last few years. As a result, patients may have a better opportunity to go back to their previous life quicker than before. Of course, there’s no such thing as a magical recovery, and there’s still a lot of work to be done. However, today, it is already a known fact that in many cases, using advanced technology has shortened recovery times.


This is important not just for the patient's physical health but mental as well, And we all know that a full recovery comes only from those who are mentally in the right place.


PT OT Nowadays: Better and quicker Rehab


After everything being said, the human body itself does not heal faster than it used to, but the methods we have at our disposal now are more advanced. While in past years, technology was implemented only in few bigger medical centers, today it is accessible to any rehab setting and even at home. Also, allowing patients to spend less time at the hospital and more time doing rehab at home, or visiting his nearby ot\pt clinic for daily care, helps them go through a rehab process with a better mental state. This better mental state pushes patients to try some things sooner than before, which naturally shortens rehab time.


Besides, patients now have more fun options. Instead of doing dull training – moving your head, hand, leg, or other body parts left and right, or trying to walk using a walker, they could participate in therapy through play, socially interact with others, and progress faster.


What Is Play Therapy And How It Can Be Applied?


Play therapy often refers to child therapy where a child uses play toys to express their emotions. However, it became a significant part of OT and PT in general and for all ages. Instead of going through boring exercises, patients can train their bodies using smart and interactive tools. One example is playball. It’s a smart therapy ball connected to different sensors and monitors with different usage. Since not every injury is the same, a therapist will recommend which playball game you will use and how you will use it. There are many various physiotherapy games that patients can enroll on their way to full recovery. There are games for improving physical parameters (strength, range of motion, etc.) and others that help with cognitive and educational deficits, visual and motor skills, memory, language, and more. Since the most important thing when attending therapy is adherence, play therapy has become the most fun method for a patient to feel relaxed and enjoy the therapy session instead of taking it as an obligation.


And the best thing – playball is monitoring the patient’s progress meaning that you will always know where you stand and have done better than yesterday. For those who are competitive, this can be a high motivation to push a bit further every day and recover faster.





Clinical Advantages - in a nutshell

Throughout the use of interactive games, especially in neurological deficits, parts of our brain connect and are stimulated to work in conjunction with each other in order to create a complete circle. It uses the working neural pathways to stimulate the damaged pathways allowing the muscles to engage in functional activities. The brain continuously receives visual feedback to guide the correct movement toward the patient’s progression.


Conclusion


Physiotherapy games with a playball or other available technologies are an excellent way for a patient to recover faster, make his rehabilitation time more interesting, and shorten the entire process. Thankfully, it showed results already, and we have many patients who are showing great results in their rehab instead of spending long months struggling to recover. If you have a need, try game therapy, it cannot harm you.


 

Learn more about the PLAYBALL 'smart' therapy system visit >> www.playwork.me

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