Artificial Intelligence in Physical Therapy
Hi, Bestie. It’s good to have you back. If you’re joining for the first time, this is a space where we chat about all things pelvic health! Today, we’re talking about a bit of a more general physical therapy-related topic, but one that is quite contemporary: Artificial Intelligence (AI). If you haven’t been living under a rock over the past several months, you’re familiar with AI. It has become increasingly popular in the media, especially within the past year or so. AI has been used for seemingly everything under the sun including e-commerce, planning vacations, facial recognition, and so much more. But, how does AI fit into the future of healthcare? We know it already has a place in patient scheduling and checking drug interactions, but how about in actually treating patients? Let’s talk about it.
The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK has recently rolled out a new treatment option for folks with musculoskeletal pain in the form of an app called Flok Health. According to Flok’s website, the app provides a fusion of AI and human physiotherapists working together to provide world-class care, with nearly 99% of patients with back pain utilizing a fully automated pathway (2). The reason for this? Waitlists. The NHS has stated they do not have enough healthcare professionals to meet the growing demand for physical therapy services. Patients are stuck on long waitlists, delaying necessary treatment for painful conditions. This is a common issue as many countries around the world experience shortages in their physical therapy workforce (3). Patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as back pain, will be able to get a doctor’s referral to the Flok Health system, or even self-refer.
Does it actually work?
Last year between May and December 2023, researchers completed a pilot study to test the effectiveness of this AI solution. In the study, 1000 NHS workers with back pain were treated by the AI physiotherapist (2). Of the folks who were surveyed after the trial, everyone reported that their experience had been at the very least equivalent to working with a human physiotherapist (2). Somewhat shockingly, 57% of those surveyed thought the AI experience was better than previous experiences with human physiotherapists (2). This should be a bit of a wake-up call for physical therapists everywhere. While I don’t think our jobs are going anywhere any time soon, when patients are having a better experience with AI than with you, it should make you question why that is the case. I think part of it is that physical therapists are held to incredibly high productivity standards by their workplaces, with some most physical therapists treating a patient every 30 minutes and some treating up to 40 or 50 patients a day. If you’re seeing your therapist for minutes at a time, it is no wonder your experience is not exemplary. Also, high patient volumes often result in physical therapists getting burnt out. This burnout doesn’t mean they are less skilled at their jobs or putting in less effort with patients, but the energy is something patients may be able to pick up on during treatment sessions.
So, is AI the solution we’ve been looking for?
I personally think there is a place for AI in healthcare, but it won’t be replacing our jobs anytime soon. A huge part of many physical therapy treatments and/or plans of care includes manual therapy and modalities. These treatments cannot be replicated by AI at this time. I think AI can play a part in helping patients learn exercises, providing education on symptoms, and implementing clinical reasoning for the development of plans of care. However, there are so many physical skills physical therapists have that cannot be replaced. Perhaps AI can be beneficial in reducing the burden carried by physical therapists everywhere. Our patients rely on us to help them feel better and many of us found this profession because we have a passion for improving the lives of others. While burnout can diminish that passion, that core desire to help others is always there. I hope the future of AI in the physical therapy space provides better outcomes for patients, but also a healthier work environment for physical therapists.
What do you think? Would you be willing to be treated by AI in order to see a “therapist” sooner? Were you surprised to hear that patients had a better time working with AI than with human therapists? I’m interested to hear your thoughts!
XOXO,
Your Pelvic Bestie
References:
Tiago S. Jesus, Gerald Koh, Michel Landry, Peck-Hoon Ong, António M.F. Lopes, Peter L. Green, Helen Hoenig, Finding the “Right-Size” Physical Therapy Workforce: International Perspective Across 4 Countries, Physical Therapy, Volume 96, Issue 10, 1 October 2016, Pages 1597–1609, https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20160014
*The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives
