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. 2023 Sep 26:9:20552076231203599.
doi: 10.1177/20552076231203599. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.

Effectiveness, safety and patients' perceptions of an immersive virtual reality-based exercise system for poststroke upper limb motor rehabilitation: A proof-of-concept and feasibility randomized controlled trial

Jiayin Chen  1 , Calvin Kalun Or  1 , Zhixian Li  2 , Eric Hiu Kwong Yeung  3 , Yong Zhou  2 , Tiantian Hao  2
Affiliations

Effectiveness, safety and patients' perceptions of an immersive virtual reality-based exercise system for poststroke upper limb motor rehabilitation: A proof-of-concept and feasibility randomized controlled trial

Jiayin Chen et al. Digit Health. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness, safety and patients' perceptions of an immersive virtual reality (VR)-based exercise system for poststroke upper limb rehabilitation.

Methods: A proof-of-concept, 2-week randomized controlled trial was conducted. Fifty stroke patients were randomly assigned to either use the immersive VR-based exercise system to perform upper limb exercises for 2 weeks (intervention) or play commercial games (control). Effectiveness, safety and patients' perceptions of the exercise system were assessed at baseline and at 1- and 2-week follow-ups.

Results: Intention-to-treat analysis revealed that after 2 weeks, statistically significant improvements in shoulder flexion active range of motion (AROM), shoulder abduction AROM, perceived upper limb motor function and quality of life (QoL) were observed in one or both groups, but not between the groups. Per-protocol analysis showed that after 2 weeks: (i) statistically significant improvement in shoulder abduction AROM was obtained in the intervention group, and the difference in the mean changes between the groups was statistically significant; (ii) statistically significant improvements in coordination/speed (Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity), shoulder flexion AROM, perceived upper limb motor function and QoL were obtained in one or both groups, but not between the groups.

Conclusions: The immersive VR-based exercise system is a potentially effective, safe and acceptable approach for supporting poststroke motor rehabilitation. These findings can serve as a basis for larger-scale studies on the application of VR for poststroke exercises.

Keywords: Immersive virtual reality; rehabilitation; stroke; upper limb motor exercises.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Dumbbell lifting in virtual reality (left) for shoulder exercises (right).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Fishing in virtual reality (left) for elbow exercise (right).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Sheep whacking in virtual reality (left) for forearm exercises (right).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Apple picking in virtual reality (left) for wrist exercises (right).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Balloon popping in virtual reality (left) for reaching exercise (right).
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Study flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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