Abstract
(1) Background: Increasing the amount of therapy time has been shown to improve motor function in stroke survivors. However, it is often not possible to increase the amount of therapy time provided in the current one-on-one therapy models. Rehabilitation-based virtual reality exergame systems, such as Jintronix, can be offered to stroke survivors as an adjunct to traditional therapy. The goal of this study was to examine the safety and feasibility of providing additional therapy using an exergame system and assess its preliminary clinical efficacy. (2) Methods: Stroke survivors receiving outpatient rehabilitation services participated in this pilot randomized control trial in which the intervention group received 4 weeks of exergaming sessions in addition to traditional therapy sessions. (3) Results: Nine subjects in the intervention and nine subjects in the control group completed the study. The intervention group had at least two extra sessions per week, with an average duration of 44 min per session and no serious adverse events (falls, dizziness, or pain). The efficacy measures showed statistically meaningful improvements in the activities of daily living measures (i.e., MAL-QOM (motor activity log-quality of movement) and both mobility and physical domains of the SIS (stroke impact scale) with mean difference of 1.0%, 5.5%, and 6.7% between the intervention and control group, respectively) at post-intervention. (4) Conclusion: Using virtual reality exergaming technology as an adjunct to traditional therapy is feasible and safe in post-stroke rehabilitation and may be beneficial to upper extremity functional recovery.
Highlights
Hemiplegia, weakness of one side of the body, is a common consequence of stroke that can lead to significant functional impairments, including loss of arm function that occurs in up to 85% of stroke survivors [1]
A single-blind two-arm pilot randomized clinical trial [16] was used in this study with a ‘pre-post-follow up’ (PPF) design
Meta-analyses examining the effect of the intensity of stroke rehabilitation on recovery suggest that the extent of recovery during the subacute stage post-stroke is related to the intensity of rehabilitation, i.e., the more time is spent in rehabilitation, the greater the extent of recovery [25]
Summary
Hemiplegia, weakness of one side of the body, is a common consequence of stroke that can lead to significant functional impairments, including loss of arm function that occurs in up to 85% of stroke survivors [1]. Public Health 2020, 17, 113; doi:10.3390/ijerph17010113 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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