Virtual reality used alongside standard therapy may help stroke survivors regain arm function, a major new analysis suggests.
The updated review, which draws on data from 190 trials involving 7,188 people, suggests VR could be a promising rehabilitation tool—particularly by increasing the amount of therapy patients receive without needing constant supervision from clinicians.
This is the fourth update of a Cochrane review, a systematic analysis that combines findings from multiple studies, first published in 2011. Since the previous version in 2017, 119 new studies have been added.
The researchers assessed a wide range of VR technologies, from simple screen-based games to immersive, head-mounted systems developed specifically for rehabilitation.
A team of authors based in Australia, Canada and the US found that VR, when compared to conventional therapy alone, may slightly improve arm function and physical activity. More significant effects were seen when VR was added to standard care, increasing overall therapy time and leading to greater gains in arm function.
Professor Kate Laver of Flinders University said: “Spending more time in therapy is known to improve outcomes after stroke.
“Virtual reality can offer a fairly inexpensive and engaging way to increase the amount of therapy without a clinician’s supervision.”
The review also found VR may help improve balance and reduce limitations in activity, although effects on mobility, participation and quality of life remain uncertain due to limited or low-certainty evidence.
Despite the growing number of studies, many trials were small and used basic or low-cost VR technologies, such as commercially available gaming systems.
Few studies evaluated immersive, head-mounted devices, and their effectiveness remains unclear.
The review also noted that most current VR programmes focus on movement training rather than helping people regain functional abilities like dressing or cooking.
Professor Laver said: “This technology has the potential to simulate real-life environments, such as shopping in a supermarket or crossing a street, which allows clinicians to trial tasks that are unsafe to practise in the real world.
“Yet we’re still seeing simple VR interventions dominate the research. There’s a real opportunity for researchers to go further and develop more sophisticated, function-focused therapies.”
