One of the hardest parts of a recovery is staying engaged with physiotherapy. It can be difficult and monotous to repeat the same exercises over and over, particularly if they’re hard to complete. And, if you’re not enjoying the exercises, then you’re less likely to complete them … and what do you think happens to your recovery as a result?
One of the most popular exercises on our XRHealth headsets is the Balloon Blast app. It’s great for helping to improve shoulder range of motion in a defined area. Your clinician can modify the settings, and then analyse your speed and accuracy to track your progress. It can also be altered to use one arm or to use both.
The app requires you to swipe at coloured balloons using either one or two swords. The balloons appear in lines, requiring you to swipe in long, sweeping motions to pop them.
The more balloons you pop in one swipe, the more points you earn!
And, just like any video game … you quickly find yourself wanting to swipe and play more to beat your previous scores.
As you play, you can immediately feel how the app works your shoulder muscles – therein lies the beauty of using virtual reality applications as part of your physiotherapy! Although you’re completing your exercises, it feels more like a game than anything … so it’s actually enjoyable to complete, and it’s easy to remain staying engaged with physiotherapy!
To see how Balloon Blast works, check out this video or book in to meet with one of our clinicians.
