Exploring feedback requirements for the design of technology enhanced vibrotactile feedback strategy for home-based physiotherapy exercises: An Interview Study Among Physiotherapists (Preprint)

Abstract

Effective treatment in physiotherapy requires hands-on therapy with therapists as well as hands-off treatment like home exercises. To compensate the lack of feedback for home exercising, various technical approaches are studied and developed. Well studied feedback strategies for this use case are missing, especially for tactile feedback.

This paper combines principles of user-centered design and psychology of learning and aims to derive requirements for designing a vibrotactile feedback strategy for a wearable device for physiotherapy home exercises.

The feedback behavior of nine physical therapists was observed in a simulated training session and recommendations for a technical feedback system were observed and collected in a guided interview. Data were analyzed along the categories of a deductively and inductively created category system. Frequency distributions of the quantified observation data were created, and qualitative interview data were evaluated using content structuring content analysis.

The present work highlights that reduced feedback frequency, differentiated feedback content, multimodal feedback, and trunk-proximal tactile feedback were recommended by physical therapists for a technical feedback system for the correct performance of physiotherapeutic home exercises in the treatment of unspecific low back pain

This paper offers approaches for the design of a vibrotactile feedback strategy. These approaches should be tested in hypotheses driven research. Further patient studies should be conducted.