Using Objective Data to Support Recovery: The Role of Motion Sensor Technology

Science plays an important role in how recovery is understood, measured and supported, particularly in cases where progress is influenced by a range of physical, psychological and behavioural factors.

However, improvements are not always straightforward to identify, as changes can be gradual and are not always reflected by pain levels alone. In more complex or long-term cases, this can make it difficult to determine whether recovery is progressing as expected.

To explore this further, we spoke with Physiotherapist Matthew Lorenc, who shares his clinical perspective on how motion-sensor technology can be used to better understand movement, support clinical decision-making and contribute to recovery planning.

Why Measuring Progress In Recovery Can Be Challenging

From your perspective as a physiotherapist, why can progress in recovery be difficult to measure, particularly in more complex or long-term cases?

In complex and chronic injury there are numerous factors contributing to a patient’s condition and recovery. Small improvements in objective clinical measures may not translate into perceived improvement from the subjective perspective of the patient.

A patient’s recovery is often not very linear and can take considerable time. With smaller improvements to measure, often frequent fluctuation of symptoms, and pain limited behaviours, traditional clinical measures used in acute injury recovery are often not very applicable.

Looking Beyond Symptoms

Why is it important to look beyond pain or symptoms when assessing recovery?

Pain is often not a good indicator of recovery, and in chronic injury improvements in range of motion, strength and functional capacities take a considerable time. In many complex and chronic injuries biopsychosocial factors also play a significant role in a patient’s recovery journey and unless these issues are also addressed recovery will be sub-optimal.

What Motion-Sensor Technology Can Show Us

How does motion sensor technology help you better understand a person’s movement and physical capacity?

Objective movement data is an important piece in the bigger picture of a patient’s recovery journey. The data can often give you insights that are not available with traditional methods of rehabilitation by tracking what a patient is doing when they are not in a treatment session.  Postures, loading, repetitions, activity time, levels of pain and fatigue can be accurately tracked to form a more comprehensive overview of a patient’s lifestyle, rehabilitation, progress and recovery.

Supporting Clinical Decision-Making

How does having objective movement data influence your clinical decision-making and rehabilitation planning?

With a more detailed overview of what a patient is doing during their day to day lives, and in their at-home rehabilitation we have a more accurate picture on what is impacting their recovery. We can more easily see quality and quantity of movement, compensations, avoidance behaviours, motivation and adherence to prescribed interventions and track all these measures over time. By adjusting one, or a number of these factors, we can assess what impact that has on a patient’s recovery.

Improving Communication And Alignment

How can objective data support communication between clinicians, case managers and other stakeholders?

Objective data can remove some of the confusion around a number of factors that contribute to recovery. In the absence of an improvement of pain, which is often a patients main cause of concern, we can report on positive changes in range of motion over time (despite the usual flare-ups and sometimes pain limiting behaviours), increased loading (set, reps, time under tension), difficulty of exercises and pain, fatigue and recovery during exercise sessions. These are all positive indicators towards recovery and informing key stakeholders of this, allows better decision making in regards to supporting and planning a patient’s recovery.

Recovery Is More Than Physical

From your experience, how do psychological factors influence recovery, and how can approaches like CBT or EMDR support this alongside physical rehabilitation?

Pain psychology plays a crucial role in physical injury recovery by shaping how a person perceives and responds to pain. Factors such as fear of movement, anxiety, and negative beliefs about injury can amplify pain signals and lead to avoidance behaviors, which may slow healing and reduce function.

Conversely, positive coping strategies, confidence in recovery, and gradual exposure to movement can improve outcomes by reducing perceived pain and supporting physical rehabilitation. From my experience in almost all complex and chronic injury situations there is a significant benefit in incorporating Psychological support into physical rehabilitation.

Recovery is influenced by a combination of physical, psychological and behavioural factors, all of which may interact and evolve over time.

The use of objective data, alongside evidence-based approaches, may support a more comprehensive understanding of progress and assist in guiding decision-making throughout the recovery process.