Top 5 health apps for Physiotherapy
Apps can be a useful addition to your Physiotherapy tool kit.
Are you interested in using apps as part of your rehabilitation and treatment but not sure where to start? We can help.
Physiotherapists are at the forefront of rehabilitation. We use a variety of treatment methods to fit with their patients. Technology is becoming more and more part of our everyday life.
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 Physiotherapists, Speech and Language therapists, Occupational 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. We are proud to have a large network of testers with Acpin and multiple universities affiliated.
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 Physiotherapists 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 Physiotherapy Apps for rehabilitation and recovery,
as tried and tested by our NHS Physiotherapists.
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
Hudl Technique
Hudl is a video based app. Developed to help pro athletes review and perfect their technique. The app allows you to study the video you've uploaded, or capture new video using your device.
We use it as a gait or movement analysis tool for upper and lower limbs. The app allows you to video your patient doing a set movement or task. You can then watch it back, zoom in on certain features and compare the same movement with previous videos. Patients and family members love being able to see improvements. It is a useful educational tool to break down movement patterns.
You just need to be mindful of confidentiality if using tablets with multiple patients.
Available on: Apple.
Price: Free
Our Rating: 4.5 Star
Our users said: "Great for reviewing gait and showing patients and families members so they can understand". Louise Physiotherapist
REPS recovery Exercises
We all know that repetition is the key to success of in rehabilitation especially in Stroke and Neurological rehabilitation. This handy little app allows an easy and fun way to practice impairment based upper limb tasks. REPS Recovery Exercises consists of two post-stroke exercise programs TASK and PUSH. Both programs utilise a strategy that can assist recovery after stroke – repetitive practice. TASK involves the repetitive practice of four everyday tasks whereas PUSH involves the repetitive practice of arm movements. This is similar to the GRASP exercises that were once recommended for Stroke but updated in an App form
Available on: Apple and android.
Price: Free
Our Rating: 4.5 Star
Squeezy and Squeezy-For-Men
The squeezy app series are all about the pelvic floor. They have been designed by physiotherapists specialising Women's Health working in the NHS. This recommendation is two for the price of one. Squeezy and Squeezy for men. They help with pelvic floor muscle exercises. The app is particularly aimed at patients experiencing problems connected to their bladder, bowels or pelvic floor muscles as it can be tailored to a specific exercise programme and set to remind you when to do your exercises.
It is simple to use, discreet, informative and has helpful visual and audio prompts to support your exercise programme plus it maintains a record of the number of exercises you have completed. 
Get Squeezy or Get Squeezy for Men
Available on: Apple and Android
Price: £2.99
Our Rating: 4 Star
MSK help
MSK is a core area for Physiotherapy. So no Physiotherapy app lit would be complete without a little something for the MSK world. Our MSK colleagues find this app a useful tool to give to patients prior to their appointment to et patients moving or starting their treatment early.
MSK help app provides clear advice and exercise videos with a FAQ section for MSK common conditions. Useful to give to patients prior to an appointment. Due to being developed in Scotland this app signposts to Scottish Organisations. Sometimes the app crashes when using the exercise videos
The app includes:-
• Exercises and video clips to help you get moving safely
• Self help quizzes to help tailor information for your MSK problem
• Information to help with Work - Working lives information
• Reminders to do your exercises and/or attend any appointments
Available on: Apple and Android
Price: Free
Our Star Rating: 4.5
Well that's our Top 5 apps for Physiotherapy. 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