The virtual reality fitness programme encourages the patients to move faster on a specially-adapted treadmill with virtual reality screens, which in turn can speed up their recovery, said lead scientist Wendy Powell, a PhD student at the School of Creative Technologies, who has developed the software, which works in conjunction with a specially adapted treadmill.
Powell said the system fools patients’ brain into believing they are walking too slowly than they are which in turn encourages them to walk faster and further. Moving images of trees or mountains on a giant screen respond to patients' efforts on the adapted treadmill. As patients walk images make it seem as if they are strolling in the country.
In addition, the device uses a variety of different images from urban landscapes to forest and mountain scenes, creating a virtual world for the patient to ‘walk’ through on the treadmill.
"The virtual system encourages patients to walk more quickly and for longer, almost without them realizing it. It is not just that they are distracted from the pain; by moving faster than they realize, their body actually feels it less. We're effectively fooling the brain and cheating the body,” Ms Powell said.
“It’s a lot more fun than traditional rehab and it can actually facilitate a much faster recovery. Our test subjects are usually surprised when I tell them they’ve improved by up to 20 per cent,” she added.
Ms Powell said the system could be of great help especially to older stroke sufferers who usually find traditional approaches to improving their speed and distance difficult because it relied on self-motivation.
She said: “After a stroke or fall many older people lack motivation and confidence and they don't feel steady on their feet so getting out and about can be an issue and they can find the whole process rather dull.”
Clinical trials on patients are currently taking place at Canada-based McGill University, and early results are also said to be very encouraging.
Andy Long, a sixty-one-year-old stroke sufferer who has been using the technology as part of his rehab, calls the device “magic”.
“The vast majority of stroke survivors cannot use a normal treadmill because they are not in control. Many can only hold on with one hand, making it almost impossible. Walking is the best possible exercise for their bodies, and this system means it could all become available to them,” he said.
i didn't know that a
i didn't know that a treadmill can help stroke patients recover faster. amazing how most people only consider the weight loss benefits.
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