An Automated Physio-neuro Recovery Tool For Enhancing Muscle And Brain Co-ordination And Recovery After Sports Related Trauma And Injuries

• Main Authors: Banerji, Subhasis, Heng, John, Menezes, Daphne D., Ponvignesh, P. S.
• Other Authors: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Sports Science & Technology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80628; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40557; http://www.icsst.sg/2014/programme.html
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Injuries are common in high intensity sports such as rugby, martial arts, motor sports and the like. These sports result in not just limb injuries but also brain injuries affecting cognitive and motor function. One of the problems with long term neuro-muscular rehabilitation is that access to supervised therapy is difficult on a daily basis and family resources such as time and money can be severely strained. SynPhNe is a wearable, portable, connected rehabilitation device which trains the brain and muscle as one system, rather than two distinct elements. It can highlight a person’s unconscious musclebrain reactions after injury and trauma which may be hampering recovery. These reactions are then self-corrected in real time using a dynamic relaxation protocol. The person trains to perform various exercises and tasks in an environment of dynamic activation-relaxation balance which helps not just muscle isolation but also outcomes based tasks. SynPhNe was first tested among the stroke population. Stroke is considered a severe form of trauma affecting brain and muscle function. One outcome was that using SynPhNe requires substantially fewer repetitions to obtain results, as compared to conventional repetitive practice therapy. It was also possible for a non-medical person to use the device to administer guided therapy. Being automated with easy-to-build exercise options for different types of sports specific training schedules, it presents a promising option to help sports persons recover not just movement but also co-ordination and control in a safe, fast and low cost manner. This paper describes how the SynPhNe method could impact the sports injury and performance enhancement challenges of the future.