Interview Benoit Faucher - 24h Vélo Skoda

Can you explain how virtual reality physiotherapy can improve sports performance in a more global way, and not just for cyclists?

Benoit: Certainly. Virtual reality offers an innovative approach to improving sports performance. By using virtual environments, we can simulate specific gestures and enable athletes to train in a more immersive and interactive way. It enhances their ability to make quick decisions, improve coordination and proprioception, and develop discipline-specific skills.

What are the specific advantages of using virtual reality in athlete rehabilitation?

Benoit: Virtual reality offers many advantages in sports rehabilitation. First of all, it enables us to recreate functional environments, facilitating the transition between rehabilitation and the return to sporting activity. What's more, VR makes it possible to design discipline-specific training protocols, focusing on precise gestures. Athletes can thus work on their precision, coordination and balance in a targeted way.

How can virtual reality physiotherapy help prevent injuries in athletes?

Benoit: Injury prevention is one aspect of virtual reality physiotherapy. Using virtual exercises and simulations, we can identify compensatory or avoidance movements or risky movement patterns, and teach athletes the correct techniques to minimize the risk of injury. This improves stability, muscle control and body awareness, reducing the risk of sports-related injuries.

Can you tell us about a case where virtual reality physiotherapy was particularly beneficial for an athlete?

Benoit: Absolutely. I recently worked with a tennis player who was recovering from tennis elbow. Thanks to VR, we were able to recreate situations that were just sub-painful, and gradually increasing the amplitude and speed imperceptibly, enabled her to regain her self-confidence and readapt her movements to real-life scenarios. Using VR exercises, we were able to reinforce her stability, coordination and reactivity, and she quickly regained her pre-injury performance levels.

What are the most exciting new advances and developments in virtual reality physiotherapy?

Benoit: The field of virtual reality physiotherapy is evolving rapidly. We're seeing new applications develop, such as real-time posturological analysis, which enables us to accurately examine body movements during imbalances caused by a dynamic platform like Virtualis' Motion. In addition, the integration of virtual reality with other therapies. I'm thinking, for example, of cryotherapy, which could be combined with VR to give a coherent immersive experience. Electrotherapy, which has also made enormous progress in terms of sensation, could also be used in conjunction with relaxation software, opening up new possibilities for maximizing rehabilitation results.

Virtualis VR rehabilitation gives a functional meaning to each gesture performed, and integrating a sensation with a related environment can only enhance the desired effects. As I'm also a hypnosis practitioner, I'm very attached to this congruence between the senses and what can be perceived as real.

What advice would you give to physiotherapists considering investing in virtual reality physiotherapy?

Benoit: My advice would be to stay curious. Do some tests on yourself to understand how virtual reality can be integrated effectively and complementarily into your rehabilitation practice. Don't hesitate to take part in training courses, demonstrations and exchanges with other professionals to share practices and experiences.