EFFECTIVENESS OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN RECOVERY OF MOTOR FUNCTION IN POST-STROKE HEMIPARESIS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Virtual Reality(VR) is a novel treatment approach for stroke rehabilitation as it enables individuals to reproduce standard controlledmovements to accomplish functional task. In contrast to conventional rehabilitation that is monotonous, long-term and challenging,VR increases patient interest in rehabilitation thereby reduces the boredom and adaptation therefore enhances the visuo-spatialfeedback. It has been observed that approximately 65% of the stroke survivors suffer hemiparesis that predominantly leads difficultyin performing daily living activities. Therefore, this study aims to assess the sensorimotor and functional performance in post-stroke hemipareticpatients using VR based gaming system. A total of 81 participants who had first-ever ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke with onsetof >6 months, enrolled in post-acute rehabilitation program at Tertiary Care Hospital were included. The VR gaming software namedWonder Tree (WT) © was used for the intervention. All participants were required to play two different games i.e. bucket ball andbubble pop for 15-20 minutes, 3 days/week for the duration of 8th weeks. Participants were assessed on baseline and post-interventionon Fugyl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) and Wolf Motor Function Test (W.MFT) to assess sensorimotor function andfunctional skills. Participants showed significant improvement in sensorimotor function and functional abilities (p<0.05) after 8thweeks of intervention.