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How Virtual Reality Could Help People Living with Parkinson's Disease

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One factor that can help improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is being able to see what’s going on. It seems that seeing movements in a virtual reality can help patients with Parkinson’s. As technology progresses, so do the training options for improving motor function.

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Participants diagnosed with Parkinson's disease were attached to a robotic sensor that detected small, precise wrist movements to make a table tilt in a virtual environment with the goal of balancing a virtual ball on a target. To increase the difficulty of the test, the responsiveness of the virtual ball was increased. The researchers found an increase in movement precision in other, untrained motor tasks and wrist proprioceptive function. However, more research is certainly called for in this field. There are huge questions regarding the choice of physical training methods and the exact nature and duration of exercises to be prescribed for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

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Meet the educator

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Andrea Salzman
Andrea Salzman, MS, PT graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Master’s degree in physical therapy in 1992. Over the last two decades, she has held numerous prominent leadership roles in the physical therapy field, with a heavy emphasis on academic writing and administrative functions. Between 1995 and 1998, Salzman served as the Editor-in-Chief of an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) journal. In 2010, Salzman received one of the highest honors given to a physical therapist from the American Physical Therapy Association, the Judy Cirullo Leadership Award. Between 2012 and the present, Salzman has written 12 physical therapy courses for Care2Learn, Relias Learning and reviewed over 100 other course offerings. Currently, Salzman continues in her writing, leadership and administrative roles at Aquatic Therapy University and 10K Health.
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27 reviews by Ausmed Learners
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Wendy Kroon
04 Aug 2021
Interesting
LC
Lee Cowling
03 Feb 2021
I found it very interesting how visual perception and being able to hear your steps can improve mobility.
GG
Gaynor George
12 Feb 2023
Very interesting
ES
Elisabeth Stewart
06 May 2022
Great article about how to help Parkinson’s patients using technology.
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Jamie Gordon
24 Apr 2022
Registered Nurse
Great Interesting
DM
Danica Marie
04 May 2020
Very Informative!
SW
Samantha Wheeler
31 Jan 2022
Interesting and helpful.
Portrait of Youkyung Won
Youkyung Won
10 May 2023
Interesting!
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