What impact can the NeuroBall™ have on rehabilitation? Claire Everett, neurophysiotherapist at PhysioFunction, shares her insights into its benefits
What are the main benefits of NeuroBall™:
- For your clients/patients?
- For your clinic?
The main benefits to the clients are improvements to hand and upper limb function; working with the NeuroBall™ can assist with integrating the hand and upper limb into the whole body recovery.
We have also utilised the NeuroBall™ in therapy to assist with balance – e.g. training in both sitting and standing.
The NeuroBall™ allows the client to work at home independently following assessment and recommendations of a NeuroBall™ trained therapist.
Having a means of independently exercising can be empowering for the client and facilitates a more intensive rehabilitation programme.
The facility is able to remotely monitor use of the NeuroBall™ and adherence to an agreed exercise plan assists the therapist in managing a client’s therapy programme.
How do you decide which clients/patients are the best candidates for NeuroBall™?
A trained NeuroBall™ therapist who has experience is the best person to identify clients who will be good candidates for the NeuroBall™.
It is best practice to have identified patient goals and identified problems from a detailed assessment.
Clients need to be able to follow the instructions to engage with the therapeutic games and this forms part of the suitability assessment.
The NeuroBall™ can assist in those with both high and low tone in their hand and upper limb, however regular input either face to face or via Telerehab is required to maximise the client outcomes and ensure good technique and patterns of movement in the arm and hand are achieved.
Challenges: The size of the client’s hand to fit in the NeuroBall™ must be at least 15 cm long with a palm at least 8 cm wide so that may prevent some smaller or paediatric clients from using NeuroBall™. I’d also like to have more games to work on hand opening.
What expectations do you set with clients about:
- How often and for what length of time they should train with NeuroBall™?
- What improvements in activities of daily living they should see if they follow your recommendations?
Length of time and intensity of training is tailored to the individual and monitored and adjusted by the experienced NeuroBall™ Therapist.
Improvements in daily living activities will be individual and personal goals are set in liaison between client and therapist.
Expectations are best managed by a thorough assessment, an individualised training programme and regular input with a trained NeuroBall™ Therapist. In general, our clients have enjoyed the games and the feedback on their progress. Clients have reported that using NeuroBall™ benefits their hand function and balance.
How have you used telehealth in your NeuroBall™ home program?
We have integrated the NeuroBall™ into our extensive Telerehab offering. It has had the most benefits in those clients who have regularly engaged with 1:1 sessions with an experienced NeuroBall™ Therapist.
What have you heard from your clients about how NeuroBall™ has impacted their rehab and their lives?
Our clients have given a variety of feedback, some found whilst using the NeuroBall™ their hand was more engaged with their body, and they noted improved hand function. Some also noted improved balance.
Some clients experienced minor discomfort with use and others felt over time the games became less engaging and motivating. However, with further input from an experienced NeuroBall™ therapist, adjustments to improve comfort and suggestions on how to keep the games engaging usually addresses these issues.
For more information on the NeuroBall™, visit here
