APPLICATION OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN UPPER LIMB MOTOR REHABILITATION

Background: The reasons for using virtual reality (VR) in motor rehabilitation is based on a number of unique characteristics, such as the opportunity for experiential and active learning which encourages and motivates... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The reasons for using virtual reality (VR) in motor rehabilitation is based on a number of unique characteristics, such as the opportunity for experiential and active learning which encourages and motivates participants, the ability to objectively measure movement, and the capacity to individualize treatment needs. A review about current VR technology available for rehabilitation of upper limb function was done.
Method:
Electronic searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar, with the key words: “stroke”, “spinal cord injury”, "upper extremity", "video game", "virtual reality".
Results:
Of the 19 studies included in the analysis, 5 present results about stroke patients and 5 about Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Only 3 studies used commercial games (CG) and the remaining 16 studies used rehabilitation games (RG). Within the 5 SCI studies, 1 showed results about CG and 4 about RG. Related to stroke studies, 2 were based on CG and 12 on RG.
Conclusion:
VR moderately improves outcomes compared to conventional therapy, showing all the studies better results after VR programs. However, current VR interventions have been too few and too small to assess potential benefits.
Application to Practice:
Much work remains to be done to identify which types of patients will benefit most from these treatments, which system features are critical, and what types of training routines will work best. This understanding will be the key to designing appropriate VR system features and successful treatment interventions combination.