FWD:Ivanhoe Broadcast News-Virtual Physical Therapy

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From: byrd45 (Original Message) Sent: 9/30/2005 10:40 AM
VIRTUAL PHYSICAL THERAPY

Now THIS is cutting edge!

Reported September 5, 2005

Virtual Physical Therapy

PHILADELPHIA (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Physical therapy! Just the mention of those words conjures images of boring, painful repetitive exercises. But it doesn't have to be that way. Now a simple video game could be the ticket to pain-free rehabilitation.

Years of toting music equipment finally took a toll on Bill Plumley's neck. "I was playing in a band for 20-some years," he says. "Just the day-to-day, up-and-down, creates wear and tear as you get older." What also got old was the physical therapy doctors prescribed.

Physical therapist Richard Actman, P.T., offered bill something different, a new technique called virtual physical therapy. Patients are projected onto a screen and into a video game that leads them through the same drill of exercises as standard therapy. Because it's a game, they often forget about their pain.

"In their mind, they were playing a game and were not as aware of the pain they were having, as opposed to those where they just did regular exercise movements," Dr. Actman, of Rehab Network, P.C., in Philadelphia, tells Ivanhoe. There are 25 games that therapists can use to target specific body parts. There's even a game for balance.

Patients, including Plumley, say they can feel the results. "You're working up a sweat like you wouldn't believe. You would have thought you were on a bike or you were working on the weights for a good half hour, and here you're doing three to five minutes," he says.

It's such a good workout that experts say virtual therapy may also help those who just want to get in shape.

Virtual physical therapy is best for patients with injuries of the elbow, knee and rotator cuff. It also works well for patients with balance problems. So far, it is only offered at the Rehab Network, P.C.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/

If you would like more information, please contact:

Richard Actman, P.T.
Rehab Network, P.C.
3110 Grant Ave.
NE Philadelphia, PA 19140
(888) 817-3422
(267) 474-0800
ractman@aol.com
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=12033