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Author Spotlight: Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients With a Digital Occupational Training System
Published on: December 29, 2023
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A Novel Virtual Reality Training Strategy for Poststroke Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Naveed Anwar1,2, Hossein Karimi1, Ashfaq Ahmad1
1Physical Therapy Department, University of Lahore, Lahore 42000, Pakistan.
Journal of Healthcare Engineering
|November 29, 2021
Summary
Virtual reality training significantly improves balance and lower extremity function in stroke patients more than conventional physical therapy. This offers a promising rehabilitation tool for enhancing patient quality of life.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Physical Therapy
Background:
- Stroke commonly causes impairments in motor, sensory, and cognitive functions, significantly impacting daily living.
- Conventional physical therapy faces challenges in fully restoring function and managing the widespread disability post-stroke.
- Virtual reality (VR) training emerges as a potential innovative rehabilitation tool to address these challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of virtual reality training versus conventional physical therapy for improving balance and lower extremity function in stroke survivors.
- To evaluate the impact of VR training on specific functional domains including motor function, joint pain, and range of motion.
- To provide evidence for VR's role in stroke rehabilitation from a developing country's perspective.
Main Methods:
- A randomized clinical trial involving 68 post-stroke participants was conducted.
- Participants were divided into two groups: one receiving virtual reality training and the other conventional physical therapy.
- Interventions consisted of 60-minute sessions, 3 times per week for 6 weeks, with assessments using the Berg Balance Scale and Fugl-Meyer Assessment.
Main Results:
- Virtual reality training demonstrated statistically significant improvements in Berg Balance Scale scores (p < 0.001) compared to conventional therapy.
- Significant enhancements were observed in Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scores for lower extremity motor function, joint pain, and joint range of motion (p < 0.001) with VR.
- While FMA sensation showed a significant main effect for time (p < 0.001), there was no significant time vs. group interaction (p=0.202).
Conclusions:
- Virtual reality training is more effective than conventional physical therapy in restoring balance and lower extremity function in stroke patients.
- The findings support VR as a superior rehabilitation modality for improving functional outcomes and quality of life in stroke survivors.
- This study contributes valuable local literature from a developing country, forming a basis for future research in stroke rehabilitation.
