Top 5 apps for Occupational Therapists
Apps can be a useful addition to your Occupational Therapy tool kit.
Are you interested in using apps as part of your rehabilitation and treatment but not sure where to start? We can help.
Occupational Therapists are always moving with the times and updating their treatment methods to fit with their patients. Technology is becoming more and more part of our everyday life. To make our treatment meaningful Occupational Therapists therefore need to be able to incorporate the use of technology into our treatment methods.
This is sometimes easier said than done. We at Mytherappy can help.
Smart phones and tablets are now part of everyday modern day life. Patients often ask
"are there any apps that can help with my rehab?"
In fact that is how the mytherappy service started. A patient asked our therapists and we didn't know. So we found out. Our NHS specialists have now tested thousands of apps. We know what works and what doesn't. We have spend years working with mhealth and technology specialists and combining our clinical knowledge with their technology know how. This makes us truly unique. We test all apps objectively using our 50 point testing measure across our national network of NHS clinicians.
Our therapy team is made up of Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language therapists, our rehab support workers and of course our expert patients. Our NHS therapists work everyday with patients across Stroke, Brain Injury, Neurology, MS, Parkinsons, Occupational Health, Vocational Rehabilitation and more. This is in the hospital, outpatients and out in the community.
Using the right app is key to success.
There are millions of apps out there. Some are great and have been created to help people. Some are there to steal data and some are just not good at what they do. As Occupational Therapists we need to keep our patients safe and ensure they are using trusted, reliable apps.
There are a few places you can look for groups of these like:
www.my-therappy.co.uk - NHS clinicians and technology experts review health apps.
https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/ - health apps reviewed and recommended by the NHS digital health team
https://www.orcha.co.uk/ - health apps reviewed and recommended by a comprehensive testing team with health knowledge
There are also a few tips for finding your own:
Always use apps found on reliable app stores e.g. play store
Always check how many download of the app their have been, if its in the thousands this is better
Read the reviews on the app store before recommending an app
Research the maker of the app. This should help tell you why they have made the app.
If an app is free they may be after your data. Check what data is being collected.
You can find all of our health app recommendations at
www.my-therappy.co.uk
As a quick guide we are sharing our 5 top 5's. Our top 5 recommended apps for Stroke, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Neurological Rehabilitation. You can find them all at https://www.my-therappy.co.uk/news.
These are our best Occupational Therapy Apps for rehabilitation and recovery, as tried and tested by our NHS Occupational Therapists.
Via-therapy
Via-therapy is a Stroke specific app made to guide therapists with their upper limb rehabilitation. The app was made by an international panel of stroke rehabilitation researchers and clinicians from Neurology, and Physical & Occupational Therapy. The collective expertise encompassed research interests in epidemiology, motor control, and knowledge translation.
There are useful Videos on current upper limb rehab techniques. You can also refine your clinical reasoning by filtering rehab techniques for things like, self practice, cognitive deficit.
We use this app across all of our clinical areas including acute inpatients and neurological outpatients. It really helps our band 5s and junior staff as well as giving our more senior staff an update and refresher.
Available on: Apple and Android
Price: Free
Our Rating: 4 Star
Our users said: "Great to have advice on the latest upper limb rehab from a network of Stroke Specialists" Ruth OT
Matches-2
This is an app is a real update of your traditional Occupational Therapy tool kit. Card games have long been a useful and fun way to review someone's cognition. This is an update on a classic matching game that is a really useful addition to your tool kit. Our therapists find it is an easy and quick way to introduce a fun element to therapy and review cognition without having to search for that elusive pack of cards on the hospital ward or in the patients cupboard and needing a large table to set up. Its quick, its easy, its fun and the images are age appropriate.
You can race against the clock for patient self play or play as a multi player. You can also grade the number of cards in the task.
Available on: Apple.
Price: Free
Our Rating: 4.5 Star
Our users said: "Easy to use and several of my patients really like this app. Its good for visual attention as well as memory". Jenny Clinician
Visual attention therapy
We all know that repetition is the key to success of Stroke and Neurological rehabilitation. This handy little app from Tactus Therapy allows an easy and fun way to practice impairment based visual attention difficulties. It is a modern upgrade to the traditional star cancellations sheets. It allows practice in a small space and independent practice even when they can not hold a pen. We love the full version.
Available on: Apple and android.
Price: Free trial or Lite version. £7.99 for full version.
Our Rating: 4 Star
Our users said: "Great assessment tool for hemianopia and for rehab replacing the star cancellation sheets". Clinician
Vision Sim
Another one for hemianopia. This app allows families to simulate the vision of a hemianopia patient. There are multiple vision simulations on this app to help family members and staff understand what someone with a set vision deficit may be able to see. We use by selecting the hemianopia option and then having an education tool to demonstrate to loved ones what the Stroke survivor can see. This has really helped families the importance of sitting in particular spot and keeping them safe on their feet. We even ask relatives to try it out in the home environment to identify potential hazards. Our junior and rotational staff have really benefited from this experience.
Available on: Apple
Price: Free.
Our Rating: 4 star.
Our users said: "A great tool for understanding different visual problems using the iPad camera". Louise Physiotherapist
Clock Yourself
Balance rehabilitation in a handy and fun way. This little app designed by a physiotherapist allows rehabilitation of dynamic balance. All exercises are based on the patient moving their feet around a clock face. Good videos with clear instructions, evidence based intervention. Great for including dual tasking as part of home exercise programme. Able to use hands free. Comes with safety considerations for fallers. Nice progression through the different levels. Adaptable for different levels of impairment from standing with upper limb support to high level cardio/balance.
Available on: Apple and Android
Price: £1.99
Our Rating: 4.5 Star
Well that's our Top 5 apps for Occupational Therapy. We hope this has helped. We are always here for you and our aim is just to help people. Don't forget to watch out for our other Top 5s in our news pages.