ADDED EFFECT OF VIRTUAL REALITY TO CONVENTIONAL PHYSIOTHERAPY ON BALANCE, FUNCTIONAL MOBILITY AND FUNCTIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN NEUROLOGICAL REHABILITATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Abstract

Background
Neurological disorders frequently result in impairments in balance, functional mobility and functional
independence, which can adversely affect daily activities and participation. Conventional neurological
rehabilitation commonly incorporates strengthening, balance training, gait re-education, coordination
exercises and functional task practice. Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as an adjunctive rehabilitation
approach that can provide interactive, repetitive and task-oriented practice.
Objective
To compare the effects of Virtual Reality-assisted rehabilitation combined with conventional
physiotherapy with conventional neurological rehabilitation alone on balance, functional mobility and
functional independence.
Methods
A total of 60 participants undergoing neurological rehabilitation were included and allocated into two
groups of 30 participants each. Group A received Virtual Reality-assisted neurological rehabilitation in
addition to conventional physiotherapy, whereas Group B received conventional neurological
rehabilitation alone. Balance, functional mobility and functional independence were assessed using the
Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), and Functional Independence Measure
(FIM), respectively.
Results
Group A demonstrated a mean improvement of 6.33 ± 1.15 points in BBS compared with 0.63 ± 1.03
points in Group B. TUG performance improved by 3.62 ± 0.74 seconds in Group A compared with
0.83 ± 0.63 seconds in Group B. FIM increased by 8.73 ± 2.23 points in Group A compared with 0.53
± 1.07 points in Group B.
Conclusion
The present findings demonstrate greater descriptive improvement in balance, functional mobility and
functional independence following Virtual Reality-assisted rehabilitation combined with conventional
physiotherapy compared with conventional neurological rehabilitation alone. However, definitive
claims regarding statistical superiority should be based on the complete between-group inferential
analysis from the original dataset.