Virtual Reality Is the Newest Tool In Physical Therapy

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Virtual reality, once the domain of goggle-wearing teenage video game warriors, is fast becoming a tool of physical therapists, who, appropriately enough, are using it in the rehabilitation of injured military veterans. With the help of CAREN (Computer-Assisted Rehab Environment), a simulator the size of a room, physical therapists are teaching wounded service members including amputees how to cope with their disability. In other cases, they are aiding their rehabilitation to return them to work, using simulations that are near real-world. Three military centers — San Antonio’s Broke Army Medical Center, Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego — are using the simulators and finding them able to mimic countless different environments and terrains. CAREN is not just for the military, though that’s where the pricey equipment first was used.  Now the systems are finding their way into the civilian market. Advance Healthcare Network