Immersive virtual reality during gait rehabilitation increases walking speed and motivation: a usability evaluation with healthy participants and patients with multiple sclerosis and stroke.
Carla Winter, Florian Kern, Dominik Gall and 3 others
PMID 33888148WHAT IT FOUND
Patients walked faster on a treadmill wearing a VR headset than with a screen or no VR.
The headset was highly usable and caused little nausea. This was a short usability test, not proof that VR improves long-term walking.
Key findings
01Patients walked faster in the immersive VR condition than in the semi-immersive or no-VR conditions.
02Healthy participants reported higher mood and motivation after the immersive VR condition compared to the other conditions.
03The immersive VR system had high usability scores and did not cause significant simulator sickness in patients.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was a short-term usability evaluation, not a clinical trial of long-term rehabilitation effects. The sample size was very small, especially for patients (n = 14). Patients with multiple sclerosis and stroke were pooled, so results cannot be applied specifically to either group. The no-VR condition was always performed first, which may have confounded the comparison because participants became familiar with the treadmill. Overground walking was not assessed, so it is unknown if the increased treadmill speed transfers to real-world walking. Participants wore the headset for only about 10 minutes, so usability during longer, realistic therapy sessions is unknown.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. No commercial conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the increased walking speed observed during the 7.5-minute VR session means VR training will improve long-term walking function. This was a short-term usability test, not a trial of therapeutic efficacy.