Journal
PHYSIOTHERAPY THEORY AND PRACTICE
Volume 38, Issue 13, Pages 2402-2416Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2021.1941458
Keywords
Stroke; virtual reality; conventional therapy; upper limb
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Funding
- Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Saudi Arabia [RGP1440-0012]
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The review found that virtual reality rehabilitation interventions can significantly improve upper limb motor function in chronic stroke patients. Virtual reality interventions showed comparable effectiveness to conventional rehabilitation, although no statistically significant difference was found.
Objective: To systematically review the available randomized controlled trials in the literature concerning the application of virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation interventions compared to conventional physical therapy, in regaining the upper limb motor function among patients with chronic stroke. Methods: A systematic electronic database search was conducted for related studies published from inauguration and until June 25, 2020 in nine databases. Another new search was done on February 1, 2021 and no new studies were identified. Results: Six studies were included in the analysis. Significant improvement was seen following the VR therapy in patients with chronic stroke, compared to their scores prior to it (SMD = 0.28; 95% CI = 0.03-0.53; p = .03). There was neither heterogeneity (I-2 = 0% and P = .5) nor a risk of bias (P = .8) among the included studies. VR interventions produced a comparable effectiveness to that of the conventional rehabilitation, with no statistically significant difference (SMD = 0.15; 95% CI = -0.14-0.44; P = .3). There was neither heterogeneity (I-2 = 40% and P = .1) nor a risk of bias (P = .5) among the included studies. Conclusions: The upper limb motor function of patients with chronic stroke who underwent VR-based rehabilitative intervention showed significant improvement as compared to the pre-treatment state. Our analysis also revealed no superiority of VR interventions over conservative therapies; however, the difference observed did not accomplish statistical significance.
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