Physiotherapy at home not only feasible but results in better outcome for patients: Darpan Saini, Phyt.health

When the world was presented with an unwelcome viral outbreak – Covid-19 –  the resultant pandemic that was distributed far and wide also brought with it a windfall of opportunities in the digital economy. As people had to conform with the work/study from home culture while limiting as much travel as possible, there came smart and imperative moves by ventures and businesses around the world to serve people from the only safe place they could – online. Even for Physiotherapy, people started using digital platforms. Using smartphone based computer vision technology, these apps enabled patients to recover from the comfort of their homes while saving on medical expenses and their precious time. From prevention and management of chronic pain to post-surgical recovery care, digital physiotherapy treatment provided extensive plans designed to treat a wide range of musculoskeletal issues and muscular pains. Online consultations and telemedicines aren’t unheard of but a reliable online physiotherapy? Not so much, at least not in India. The good news is that physical therapists around the globe are making use of technological advancements in providing care to their ever-growing patients. 

In an exclusive interview with Darpan Saini, CEO, Phyt.health, let’s understand this phenomenon further. Excerpts:

What is the role of the right consultancy for physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy is concerned with human function, movement, and maximizing physical potential. Physiotherapists identify and maximize the quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of prevention, treatment/intervention, habilitation, and rehabilitation. Physiotherapists use physical approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical, psychological, and social well-being, taking into account variations in health status.

Physiotherapy in the post covid world. The impact and the complete landscape.

While COVID has been devastating for many businesses, it has benefitted certain others.

Looking at the industry the offline/traditional physiotherapy market had suffered due to lockdown, and during the pandemic, physiotherapy was put on hold by most patients in fear of contracting the virus, this is where innovation/technology helped patients and doctors to connect and we saw a boom and acceptance in digital physiotherapy.

We feel that ours is an essential service that is absolutely needed as we come out of the pandemic. Due to recent changes in lifestyle we have seen an increase in musculoskeletal disorders (especially back and neck issues) as more and more people have been working from home with sedentary jobs. We also feel that some of these behaviors will continue beyond the pandemic as many companies have allowed indefinite work from home, thus making physiotherapy a part of people’s lifestyle along with other wellness initiatives.

The advancement of technology has helped in reshaping various sectors. How much has it helped your industry?

Telehealth and telehealth tools, E-triage, telemental & telebehavioral healthcare, e-prescribing, and virtual urgent care in the past year have transformed from somewhat obscure, non-integrated technologies to nearly ubiquitous modes of healthcare delivery.

The acceptance and awareness of physiotherapy and its benefits have increased with the population. A majority of the market is inclined towards holistic and preventive health and wellness programs. Due to the pandemic, there has been a rise in telehealth and digital physiotherapy has benefited a lot where people are opting to make physiotherapy a part of their lifestyle to prevent chronic pain, work pain, and surgeries.

Is Physiotherapy at home feasible? How?

Physiotherapy at home is not only feasible but it results in a better outcome for patients.

Imagine the traditional approach, where you as a patient need to go to a clinic every day for a nagging neck or back pain. After a few days of traveling to and fro from the clinic, excuses start kicking in, which is bound to happen to everyone plus it actually is very inconvenient to travel 2 hours for a 30 minutes physiotherapy session, all this frustration makes you end up leaving your treatment journey midway or start popping pain killers – both of which are not the desired outcome.

This is where our Digital Physiotherapy led with our proprietary Artificial Intelligence comes in, not only do we provide an app for every patient to perform treatment from the comfort of their home but our physiotherapists keep them accountable to perform those sessions through constant monitoring and tracking, making sure there are no excuses and proactively treating the patient holistically, making sure the patient achieving their functional goals.

What is the role of Phyt.Health in organising the unorganised segment of physiotherapy?

We have two ways we provide our service – full service (software + physiotherapy) or software as a service (SaaS). In case of full service, we employ certified physiotherapists and combine the best of AI-based technology and human care to deliver the best outcomes for patients. In the case of SaaS, hospitals/clinics use our software to deliver remote care to their patients, thereby improving their patient experience. For our full service physiotherapy business we partner with hospitals and offer them a “white-label” service to be their digital physiotherapy department. We also provide physiotherapy directly to consumers through our website

Slipped disc and sciatica patients need extra care, how do you deal with such patients?

All our therapies follow a 3 phase protocol – Flexibility, Stability and Strengthening. Cases that require extra care such as slipped disc and sciatica patients, needs a ROOT cause management – Working on the strength of the core muscles to prevent any recurrences. We understand the patient’s daily activities and lifestyle to conclude the root cause of the condition and start immediate work on posture and ergonomics.

We make sure that the phase of “Flexibility” is given its due importance and the patient is slowly and steadily improving in pain scale and range of movement. Only when we are sure that the patient can be moved to another phase a thorough assessment is done with the help of our AI technology and our top physiotherapist to create a holistic treatment journey.

What are the unique features that you are offering?

Phyt Health is a computer vision and AI-enabled physiotherapy platform that delivers better and more affordable care to patients, and increased revenue for providers. Our technology optimizes physiotherapists’ time, encourages patients’ adherence to their treatment plan, and provides a continuous PT-Patient engagement model.

Phyt Health utilizes patients’ smartphone devices to engage them in the MSK physiotherapy cycle from the comfort of their own homes, improving patient outcomes and reducing costs. Our technology provides virtual musculoskeletal care by using computer vision and artificial intelligence in our mobile app to track rehab exercises with live feedback and no required wearables.