"Patients recover faster": when virtual reality aids rehabilitation

Extract from the article published on 21/11/23 available on www.sud-ouest.fr

A follow-up care and rehabilitation service in the Dordogne region of France has been using innovative technologies for several months now, offering part-time hospitalization.
"It's really impressive. I've only done two or three sessions, but this time, I let go of my hands!" For the past three weeks, Colette, who uses a wheelchair, has been visiting the medicalized part-time inpatient rehabilitation service (1), which opened in mid-September in the follow-up care and rehabilitation department (SSR) at Lolme, Dordogne.

And its progress is dazzling. Since the beginning of August, the facility, which also includes an Ehpad, has been equipped with equipment that is unique in the département: a dynamic posture platform. This tool, designed by a team of French researchers, uses virtual reality to "take patients out of their comfort zone without taking any risks".

Numerous applications:
It can be used in orthopedics, traumatology, balance disorders and even chronic pain," explains Anne-Marie Gazaix, physiotherapist. It's a very complete tool, because virtual reality will trick the brain. Professionals here have swapped their mirrors for virtual reality headsets, where patients can follow a variety of modules. They can, for example, find themselves on a ski slope and pass through gates, or out at sea and maintain their balance. Whether it's coordination, posture, load transfer or cognitive disorders, the team works on different aspects with patients, modifying the modules on a case-by-case basis.
"The only limitation would be excessive cognitive impairment or helmet phobia, but we have a 102-year-old patient to whom we are going to offer it, so age is not a problem," adds the physiotherapist.
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"Patients recover faster," observes Alexandre Ricco, who has been running the facility for two years. "Even though the budget is tight, we didn't hesitate. We want to make progress and provide better care for our patients, and rural areas deserve it," emphasizes Marc Mattera, the facility's administrator.