APTA Recognizes Virtual Reality As A Therapeutic Intervention

Written by: Arik Yates PTA

The American Physical Therapy Association is a conglomerate of DPTs, PTs, PTAs aimed at improving the profession and “health of society”. They do this through education, advocacy, supporting therapists across America, and listing guidelines of best practice. Recently, amongst list of recognized interventions like dry needling and blood flow restrictive training, the APTA has added Virtual Reality as an intervention. This is a huge step forward for virtual reality being seen as more than just the next big trend, but an actual staple for rehab.

Virtual Reality is more than just a trend; it is here to stay.

In Physical Therapy, there seems to be a new trend or modality that takes the world by storm. For instance, during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic games, you may have noticed that several athletes walking around had massive bruises on their backs, shoulder, etc. It ends up that what these athletes were getting was something called cupping, and shockingly enough, stems from ancient Chinese and Egyptian medicine. This was originally used for diagnosis like bronchitis and pneumonia, but is used commonly now to promote blood flow and pain relief to aching and sore muscles. Modern studies deem that while it can be beneficial for some, larger studies need to be conducted to prove it’s efficacy.

Unlike this, Virtual Reality research time and time again proves itself both in highly controlled testing and in the clinical, every day setting. This sets Virtual Reality a part from the other trends that come and go like the wind. And with recognition from the APTA, this modality is on its way to becoming and unwavering, unmoving cornerstone for therapy.

Be sure to check out our very own case studies, and our towering compilation of research to see for yourself just how incredible VR is for therapy.