Research Corpus VR: Still much ambiguity around VR application in therapy context
A majority of physiotherapists in the Netherlands and Belgium do not currently work with Virtual Reality (VR), but are considering using this technology in their treatments over time. This is evident from qualitative and quantitative research by Corpus VR among physical therapists in both countries. The survey also shows that there is still much uncertainty about the role VR can play. About a quarter of the respondents believe that VR does not increase therapy compliance, while it has actually been shown that this technology has a positive influence on this.
Currently, according to the study, just under 20% of Dutch and 10% of Belgian physical therapists apply VR in their treatments. The distribution between the use of VR in physical complaints, pain relief and relaxation is about the same. Among physiotherapists who do not yet use VR, the use of VR in physical complaints generates the most interest: 73% of Belgian respondents indicated that they would consider VR for this field of application, compared to 66% of their Dutch peers. Only a small percentage (Netherlands: 11%, Belgium: 4%) indicated that they would not use VR at all.
Asked about the obstacles to implementing VR in their therapy offerings, three-quarters of respondents cite cost as the most important factor. Moreover, 49% of the Dutch and 25% of the Belgian physical therapists indicate that it is still unclear to them at this time what the added value of VR can be. Also, the opinion of a quarter of the respondents that VR does not contribute to therapy compliance shows that there is still a lot of uncertainty about the possibilities of VR.
Positive through proper information
Kiki Coppelmans, psychosomatic physical therapist and co-founder of Corpus VR: “The survey shows that there are still gains to be made through proper education. But at the same time, the results show that we are on the right track: one in three respondents now think more positively about VR compared to a year ago. And that is not surprising of course; in our sector we see more and more innovative solutions being applied, including VR, which make treatments faster, smarter and better. And that benefits not only the practitioner and the patient, but ultimately society as a whole.”
