Physical activity positively affects health and well-being and drives cognitive and physical performance throughout one’s lifespan. Its benefits are well-documented, spanning improved cardiovascular health, enhanced mental clarity, and increased physical resilience. Recognizing these advantages, promoting, and monitoring physical activity behaviour has become one of the main targets in healthcare and prevention strategies worldwide.
Small but powerful helpers in everyday life
Especially smartwatches have become popular and allow users the monitoring of various health metrics, offering real-time data on heart rate, steps taken, calories burned, and sleep quality. This continuous tracking helps users gain a comprehensive understanding of their daily activities and health status. Many smartwatches include features such as activity goals, reminders to move, and achievement badges motivating users to stay active fostering a proactive approach to managing one’s health. In addition, early detection of health issues such as irregular heart rate alerts, abnormal heart rhythm notifications, and fall detection, can help identify potential health problems or risks early allowing for prompt medical consultation and intervention, potentially preventing more serious health issues.
Use of wearables in rehabilitation
At cereneo we use smartwatches and other wearable sensors to enhance rehabilitation. The continuous monitoring with this cutting-edge technology offers a more comprehensive understanding of an individual’s physical activity patterns combined with traditional periodic assessments.
Within the HealthCore framework developed by our research partner LLUI, we routinely employ continuous activity monitoring throughout most rehabilitation stays. This approach not only complements traditional assessments but also enables the therapy team to determine if training and interventions are producing the desired effects in real life. By leveraging this type of data, we can tailor rehabilitation programmes more precisely to each patient’s needs, ensuring more effective and personalized therapy and care.
As one of the first neurorehabilitation centers in the world to routinely utilize such advanced data, we are paving the way for the future of neurorehabilitation. The integration of wearable sensing technologies marks a significant step forward in enhancing patient outcomes and optimizing the rehabilitation process.