While the entire world is struggling to overcome Covid -19 pandemic and its after effects mental trauma’, prominent hospitals in Ghaziabad have introduced 'Indirect Sports Therapy' with an aim to shift the attention of the patients that has helped the patients to overcome the trauma during the quarantine period.

Recently a study conducted by some prominent hospitals in Ghaziabad has claimed that following Indirect sports therapy helped in improving psychological conditions of Covid-19 patients who are really under a trauma and need such timely intervention to improve their overall feel good factor.

In this therapy the hospitals ditched the News channel and showed only sports channels on the TV set to the Covid patients and analysed its impact on patients through psychologists.

Speaking to The Pioneer correspondent, the man behind this study Dr Kanishka Pandey, head Sports research centre IMT Ghaziabad said that the fields and playgrounds are very much an integral part of sports therapy for overcoming negativity and depression.

“However, in tough times like the present one where physical and social distancing is prevalent, the option of the field is out of bounds. Keeping the government norms in mind and the hardships that COVID patients have to undergo in terms of facing uncertainty, living away from loved ones, it's not hard to imagine the psychological impact it can have on them. Therefore, I suggested indirect sports therapy at hospitals. It helps in creating positivity and gives emotional stability,” he said. 

“Earlier, patients were misbehaving with health staff. I sent a recommendation to Yashoda Hospital, Santosh Medical College and Max Hospital to study how the patients behave with the

health staff. The outcome was that the patients were irritated, stressed, anxiety etc,” said Dr Pandey.

“I asked them what the patients do for their entertainment? The hospitals replied that the patients watch news channels all day. I suggested they switch into the sports channels instead of news channels and see whether any behavioural change is coming in them. In the beginning they were reluctant to watch sports channels but when they did they started taking interest in sports,” said Dr Pandey. 

 Dr Amoolya Seth, Dept of Psychiatry, Santosh Medical college said, due to ongoing pandemic and lockdown, people are not able to indulge in sports. “Moreover, all the News Channels are mainly telecasting about Covid-19, which has created panic.  We have introduced indirect sports therapy and telecasted sports channels through our psychologist for patients. The recovery rate has gone high and duration of treatment has also drastically reduced,” Dr Seth said.

“There is remarkable change in the Recovery Rate of the Covid-19 patients prior and after 20 June 2020 the day the Hospital started using  Indirect Sports Therapy through Sports Channel. Average days of duration in the Hospital has reduced from 20/22 days to 6/8 days,” he added.

The same was the result at the Max hospital Ghaziabad, where two groups were made and one group was shown a sports channel while the other was shown a news channel.

“Initially some people in the Sports group showed resistance but they were counselled. Finally the result was that the people who watched sports channels were psychologically stronger and it helped in removing negative thoughts and these people were happier than others,” said the official at Max hospital adding that promotion of sports channels can have positive psychological impact on patients.