Video Games as Rehab with Dr Nick Housley PT, DPT, PhD of Motus Nova

Are you looking to regain movement and independence days or years after your stroke? Take a listen, this rehab approach may be for you! Our last episode introduced everyone to Motus Nova, a company that uses technology and video games to regain movement post stroke or neurologic injury. We were so fascinated by this pairing of technology and recovery that we wanted to learn more about how it works.Dr. Nick Housley, Director of Clinical Research at Motus Nova, joins us in this episode to talk about how incorporating fine motor skills into rehab gets huge results! We are not endorsed by this company but love what they are doing so much that we just had to share. Have you given Motus Nova a shot? Let us know what you think!&nbsp;Covered in this episode:Nick’s Survivor Story: Turning Trauma Upside DownProfessional cyclist who was the victim of unsportsmanlike conduct resulting in a crashNick suffered facial fractures, jaw fractures, and a brain bleed resulting in hospitalization, reconstructive surgery, and rehabHe was a student in genetics/pre-med prior to the crash but his experience with rehab helped him to change career paths to physical therapy school at Georgia State UniversityHe became very interested in neuro-recovery and became connected with the neuroplasticity lab where he met David Wu. This was where the Motus Nova company was bornHe became involved in researching how the technology could increase access to rehab by providing remote rehab through trials with the VAHe also got a Ph. D in neuroscience to better understand neural recoveryDr. Nick is the Director of Clinical Research at Motus NovaHe is responsible for maintaining a high standard of safe careThey are constantly tweaking the technology so you can get the best gainsHe makes sure that the assistance the Motus hand and foot provides is appropriately tuned so that it does not induce spasticity and painHe makes sure they have the scientific evidence to back up the device and works to put the science on the front line making it applicable to survivorsWhat is the current research telling them? How do they take all the data that is collected by the device to make your rehab better?Movement based rehab is the gold standard for physical stroke recoveryMore quality rehab= better results and recoveryThe technology collecting data helps scientists to understand what the most important parameters are in movement recoveryThe device makes subtle changes based on how you as an individual are doing.&nbsp; It detects what your body needs to get the best result.&nbsp; It can detect more than a human therapist can.The Motus hand and foot couples a therapist and technology together to get the best results and designs a program that is optimal for you.&nbsp; It helps to take some of the guesswork out of what you need to recoverMotus evaluates you and gives truly individualized careMotus looks at a person’s abilities to best use what you can do to improve&nbsp; what you can’tCurrent research is working on engaging stroke survivors who have little to no functional movement as they have the least amount of ongoing rehab available to themWhy does Motus Nova focus on the hand or foot rather than the whole limb in people with hemiparesis?When you focus on the fine motor skills it has a carryover effect to the larger muscle groups. Fine movements lead to whole limb recovery.<li...