Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality on Upper-Extremity Stroke Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Virtual reality (VR) is an innovative rehabilitation tool increasingly used in stroke rehabilitation. Fully immersive VR is a type of VR that closely simulates real-life scenarios, providing a high level of immersion, and has shown promising results in improving rehabilitation functions. This study aimed to assess the effect of immersive VR-based therapy for stroke patients on the upper extremities, activities of daily living (ADLs), and pain reduction and its acceptability and side effects. For this review, we gathered all suitable randomized controlled trials from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science. Out of 1532, 10 articles were included, with 324 participants. The results show that immersive VR offers greater benefits in comparison with conventional rehabilitation, with significant improvements observed in ADLs (SMD 0.58, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.91, I² = 0%, p = 0.0005), overall function as measured by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (MD 6.33, 95% CI 4.15 to 8.50, I² = 25%, p = 0.00001), and subscales for the shoulder (MD 4.96, 95% CI-1.90-8.03, I² = 25%, p = 0.002), wrist (MD 2.41, 95% CI-0.56-4.26, I² = 0%, p = 0.01), and hand (MD 2.60, 95% CI-0.70-4.5°, I² = 0%, p = 0.007). These findings highlight the potential of immersive VR as a valuable therapeutic option for stroke survivors, enhancing their ADL performance and upper-limb function. The immersive nature of VR provides an engaging and immersive environment for rehabilitation.