IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i24p5144-d298634.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Virtual Reality Games as an Adjunct in Improving Upper Limb Function and General Health among Stroke Survivors

Author

Listed:
  • Mohd Azzuan Ahmad

    (Physiotherapy Programme, Centre for Rehabilitation and Special Needs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia)

  • Devinder Kaur Ajit Singh

    (Physiotherapy Programme, Center for Healthy Ageing & Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia)

  • Nor Azlin Mohd Nordin

    (Physiotherapy Programme, Centre for Rehabilitation and Special Needs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia)

  • Khor Hooi Nee

    (Physiotherapy Programme, Centre for Rehabilitation and Special Needs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia)

  • Norliza Ibrahim

    (Physiotherapy Unit, Department of Medical Rehabilitation Services, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) games has the potential to improve patient outcomes in stroke rehabilitation. However, there is limited information on VR games as an adjunct to standard physiotherapy in improving upper limb function. This study involved 36 participants in both experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 18) groups with a mean age (SD) of 57 (8.20) and 63 (10.54) years, respectively. Outcome measures were the Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper extremities (FMA-UE), Wolf motor function test (WMFT), intrinsic motivation inventory (IMI), Lawton of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and stroke impact scale (SIS) assessed at pre-post intervention. The experimental group had 0.5 h of upper limb (UL) VR games with 1.5 h of standard physiotherapy, and the control group received 2 h of standard physiotherapy. The intervention for both groups was performed once a week for eight consecutive weeks. The results showed a significant time–group interaction effect for IMI ( p = 0.001), Lawton IADL ( p = 0.01) and SIS domain of communication ( p = 0.03). A significant time effect was found in FMA-UE ( p = 0.001), WMFT ( p = 0.001), Lawton IADL ( p = 0.01), and SIS domains; strength, ADL and stroke recovery ( p < 0.05). These results indicated an improvement in UL motor ability, sensory function, instrumental ADL, and quality of life in both groups after eight weeks of intervention. However, no significant ( p > 0.05) group effect on all the outcome measures was demonstrated. Thus, replacing a portion of standard physiotherapy time with VR games was equally effective in improving UL function and general health compared to receiving only standard physiotherapy among stroke survivors.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohd Azzuan Ahmad & Devinder Kaur Ajit Singh & Nor Azlin Mohd Nordin & Khor Hooi Nee & Norliza Ibrahim, 2019. "Virtual Reality Games as an Adjunct in Improving Upper Limb Function and General Health among Stroke Survivors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:24:p:5144-:d:298634
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/24/5144/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/24/5144/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Emmanouela Cheiloudaki & Evangelos C. Alexopoulos, 2019. "Adherence to Treatment in Stroke Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-11, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Giulio Verrienti & Cecilia Raccagni & Ginevra Lombardozzi & Daniela De Bartolo & Marco Iosa, 2023. "Motivation as a Measurable Outcome in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review of the Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-25, February.
    2. Debasish Nath & Neha Singh & Megha Saini & M. V. Padma Srivastava & Amit Mehndiratta, 2022. "Design and Validation of Virtual Reality Task for Neuro-Rehabilitation of Distal Upper Extremities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Marta Rodríguez-Hernández & Juan-José Criado-Álvarez & Ana-Isabel Corregidor-Sánchez & José L. Martín-Conty & Alicia Mohedano-Moriano & Begoña Polonio-López, 2021. "Effects of Virtual Reality-Based Therapy on Quality of Life of Patients with Subacute Stroke: A Three-Month Follow-Up Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    4. Deise M. S. Mota & Íbis A. P. Moraes & Denise C. R. Papa & Deborah C. G. L. Fernani & Caroline S. Almeida & Maria H. S. Tezza & Maria T. A. P. Dantas & Susi M. S. Fernandes & Alessandro H. N. Ré & Tal, 2023. "Bilateral Transfer of Performance between Real and Non-Immersive Virtual Environments in Post-Stroke Individuals: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-16, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:24:p:5144-:d:298634. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.