E-health technology to enable safe and confident exercise at home in neurological conditions

Exercise training has shown to benefit people with neurological disorders. Many patients exercise in a clinic or hospital under the supervision of a physiotherapist. Exercising at home can be a good alternative. Amsterdam UMC has developed the B-FIT program. With B-FIT, physiotherapists can create tailor-made exercise programs for home use. Many physiotherapists and patients are afraid of overexertion when patients exercise at home. We suggest using the HRV4Training app. This app measures heart rate variability. This is a measure of how the body responds to exercise and recovery. If overexertion is imminent, physiotherapists can adjust the program. The app uses a traffic light model: green for continue, orange for caution and red for rest. First, we will investigate what physiotherapists and patients think of the B-FIT program with the HRV4Training app. Then we will investigate whether this exercise program works and is safe, and gives more confidence to physiotherapists and patients.