http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/10/1/85
Abstract
Background
Recent evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of Virtual Reality (VR) for stroke rehabilitation
nonetheless its benefits and limitations in large population of patients have not
yet been studied.
Objectives
To evaluate the effectiveness of non-immersive VR treatment for the restoration of
the upper limb motor function and its impact on the activities of daily living capacities
in post-stroke patients.
Methods
A pragmatic clinical trial was conducted among post-stroke patients admitted to our
rehabilitation hospital. We enrolled 376 subjects who had a motor arm subscore on
the Italian version of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (It-NIHSS) between
1 and 3 and without severe neuropsychological impairments interfering with recovery.
Patients were allocated to two treatments groups, receiving combined VR and upper
limb conventional (ULC) therapy or ULC therapy alone. The treatment programs consisted
of 2 hours of daily therapy, delivered 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. The outcome measures
were the Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity (F-M UE) and Functional Independence Measure (FIM)
scales.
Results
Both treatments significantly improved F-M UE and FIM scores, but the improvement
obtained with VR rehabilitation was significantly greater than that achieved with
ULC therapy alone. The estimated effect size of the minimal difference between groups
in F-M UE and FIM scores was 2.5 ± 0.5 (P < 0.001) pts and 3.2 ± 1.2 (P = 0.007) pts,
respectively.
Conclusions
VR rehabilitation in post-stroke patients seems more effective than conventional interventions
in restoring upper limb motor impairments and motor related functional abilities.
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