Effects of virtual reality-based rehabilitation on distal upper extremity function and health-related quality of life: A single-blinded,randomized controlled trial

Background: virtual reality (vr)-based rehabilitation has been reported to have beneficial effects on upper extremity function in stroke survivors; however,there is limited information about its effects on distal upper extremity function and health-related quality of life (hrqol). the purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of vr-based rehabilitation combined with standard occupational therapy on distal upper extremity function and hrqol,and compare the findings to those of amount-matched conventional rehabilitation in stroke survivors. methods: the present study was a single-blinded,randomized controlled trial. the study included 46 stroke survivors who were randomized to a smart glove (sg) group or a conventional intervention (con) group. in both groups,the interventions were targeted to the distal upper extremity and standard occupational therapy was administered. the primary outcome was the change in the fugl-meyer assessment (fm) scores,and the secondary outcomes were the changes in the jebsen-taylor hand function test (jtt),purdue pegboard test,and stroke impact scale (sis) version 3.0 scores. the outcomes were assessed before the intervention,in the middle of the intervention,immediately after the intervention,and 1 month after the intervention. results: the improvements in the fm (fm-total,fm-prox,and fm-dist),jtt (jtt-total and jtt-gross),and sis (composite and overall sis,sis-social participation,and sis-mobility) scores were significantly greater in the sg group than in the con group. conclusions: vr-based rehabilitation combined with standard occupational therapy might be more effective than amount-matched conventional rehabilitation for improving distal upper extremity function and hrqol. trial registration: this study is registered under the title effects of novel game rehabilitation system on upper extremity function of patients with stroke and can be located in https://clinicaltrials.gov with the study identifier nct02029651. © 2016 shin et al.