The Care Plus Group Hope Specialist Service are excited to be one of the first in the UK to be trialling Virtual Reality (VR) technology for Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

The Hope Service supports people with a chronic lung condition (such as Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema or Pulmonary Fibrosis) to manage their condition and improve their day-to-day life by offering programmes such as their 8 week pulmonary rehabilitation programme.

Beginning this month, the team will trial VR rehabilitation as a pilot study to see if patients find an increased benefit in relation to exercises and reduced anxiety and thus breathlessness. A range of physiotherapy exercises are delivered through a VR headset, including Fruit Picking, Boxing, Goalkeeping, and relaxation.

Joanne Richardson, Senior Specialist Physiotherapist said:
“We’re very excited to trial this new technology with our patients and we are the first in the UK to trial this type of technology in Pulmonary rehabilitation.

“We will be comparing the data from the trail with outcomes from our regular Pulmonary Group data to determine the benefits to patients.”