A Fully Immersive Virtual Reality Method for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Spinal Cord Injury

Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2020 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.5535/arm.19181 · Published: July 28, 2020

Spinal Cord Injury Assistive Technology Rehabilitation

Simple Explanation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes motor and sensory deficits below the damaged level, reducing patient quality of life. This study aimed to determine whether a fully immersive virtual reality (VR) intervention combined with conventional rehabilitation (CR) can improve upper limb function more than CR alone in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). The experimental group (EG) received 30 minutes of VR training and 30 minutes of conventional therapy per day, 4 days per week for 4 weeks.

Study Duration

4 weeks

Participants

20 patients with upper limb dysfunction due to SCI

Evidence Level

Randomized controlled clinical trial

Key Findings

1
Grip power and K-SCIM score significantly improved in the EG after the intervention.
2
Elbow extensor, wrist extensor, ASIA-UEMS, grip power, lateral pinch power, and palmar pinch power were all significantly improved as compared with those in the CG.
3
VR training combined with CR resulted in functional improvement, particularly in grip power and K-SCIM score

Research Summary

This study aimed to evaluate improvements of arm and hand functions and to assess the usefulness of a VR treatment program for cervical SCI as an adjunctive treatment modality for upper limb rehabilitation. The study demonstrated that VR training combined with CR resulted in functional improvement, particularly in grip power and K-SCIM score. The findings demonstrate that VR training of upper limb function after SCI can provide an acceptable adjunctive rehabilitation method without significant adverse effects.

Practical Implications

VR as Adjunct Therapy

VR training can be used as an adjunctive rehabilitation method to improve upper limb function in SCI patients.

Focus on Grip Strength

VR training particularly shows improvement in grip power and independence in activities of daily living.

Early Intervention

Early rehabilitation with VR for patients with motor-incomplete SCI is effective.

Study Limitations

1
The study sample was comprised of patients with tetraplegia caused by incomplete SCI only.
2
This was a relatively short-term study consisting of 16 rehabilitation sessions over 4 weeks.
3
The patient sample in the present study was relatively small.

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