Visual oscillation effects on dynamic balance control in people with multiple sclerosis.
Lara Riem, Scott A Beardsley, Ahmed Z Obeidat and 1 others
PMID 35978431WHAT IT FOUND
Virtual trees swaying in a VR scene disrupted balance in people with MS but not in healthy controls.
This suggests patients may mistake moving objects for their own motion, which could explain falls in busy environments like grocery stores.
Key findings
01People with MS showed significantly greater variability in step width, center of mass sway, and foot placement when exposed to virtual object motion compared to healthy controls.
02Both groups altered their gait in response to whole-scene oscillations, indicating similar reliance on visual self-motion cues, but only the MS group was destabilized by independent object motion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample size was small (14 with MS, 11 controls), which limits the generalizability of the findings to the broader MS population. Participants had relatively high baseline function (able to walk independently for over 8 minutes), so results may not apply to those with more severe disability. The study used a treadmill in a VR setting, which does not perfectly replicate overground walking in the real world. Walking speed differed significantly between groups, which could have influenced visual flow feedback, although the authors state this was controlled for in analysis.
Declared interests
The paper is supported by non-U.S. government funding. No specific commercial conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this proves VR therapy prevents falls. The study shows a specific visual processing deficit in MS that increases fall risk in complex environments, but it did not test whether training in VR improves balance or reduces actual falls.