Problems with the rotator cuff, embedded cartilage fragments associated with parrot beak meniscal tear, torn muscle fibres, return to sport after injury to the anterior cruciate ligament, arthritis in the knee joint... this specialised fitness and rehab app focused on the treatment of the commonest sports and everyday injuries. The target group was informed users and in particular sports physiotherapists.
Its tone was therefore very different from the characteristic style of most other fitness formats. As a rule, these kinds of fitness aids focus on fun, motivation, weight loss or improving sporting performance. This app was designed to accompany patients and physios as they progressed through a rehab programme.
As a result, the app covered a lot of ground. In the first section, the publishers presented the treatment options for acute injuries – such as the RICE rule for dealing with torn muscle fibres. The app also described surgical procedures such as reducing pressure underneath the acromion to relieve shoulder impingement symptoms.
The next section covered various exercises to treat the different injuries. Here too, it was important to translate the exercise instructions accurately, into clearly understandable German. After all, this app wasn’t intended only for doctors and physiotherapists; it was also meant for patients to use when exercising at home. In that respect, the challenge was to communicate specialist information without resorting to technical jargon.
The key section of the app was the specific rehab instructions and recovery milestones for the commonest sports and everyday injuries. For example, in shoulder injuries the physiotherapist’s job is to gradually restore movement to the joint – until the patient is able to achieve the full elevation and extension radius when reaching above their head. The ideal outcome is for the patient ultimately to be able to resume practising their sport (volleyball or tennis, for example) without restriction. Besides restoring flexibility, the second pillar consists of strengthening exercises for the shoulders, joints and extremities.
In this project, my years of reading the journal Sportphysio (published by Thieme) more than paid off – and not just for me as a sports writer and translator. The app developers, app users and – above all – the patients benefitted from the transparent, clearly understandable content I created. The result? A successful physio and fitness app of equal value to both practitioners and patients.
For reasons of professional confidentiality, I am able to provide full details of certain projects only through B2B communication, in other words specifically in direct communication with my customers. On request, I will be delighted to send you more detailed information.
