Virtual Reality Augments Movement During Physical Therapy: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial

Objective Virtual reality facilitates physical therapy via improved engagement. Although shown to benefit specific patient populations, such as stroke patients, it is less established in otherwise healthy adults and children receiving outpatient physical therapy. The primary objective was to compare total physical therapy–guided movement supplemented with virtual reality with physical therapy–guided movement alone without virtual reality. Design This pragmatic, randomized, crossover study compared physical therapy–guided movement supplemented with virtual reality with physical therapy–guided movement alone without virtual reality in outpatients (ages 6–80 yrs). This community sample had variable physical therapy indications (injury, postoperative, chronic pain), and in pre-existing conditions, therefore, participants served as their own controls. Participants received 10 mins of both physical therapy–guided movement supplemented with virtual reality and physical therapy–guided movement alone without virtual reality separated by 5 mins. The primary outcome was differences in aggregate movement of physical therapy–guided exercises. Secondary outcomes explored OMNI rating of perceived exertion and participant and physical therapist satisfaction. Paired t tests, χ2 tests, and regression models were used to analyze differences. Results The 41 participants (17 pediatric and 24 adult) moved significantly more during physical therapy–guided moveme...
Source: American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation - Category: Rehabilitation Tags: Original Research Articles Source Type: research