Virtual reality use in motor rehabilitation of neurological disorders: A Systematic Review

Recent experimental evidence suggests that rapid advancement of virtual reality (VR) technologies has great potential for the development of novel strategies for motor rehabilitation. Virtual reality is a computer based, interactive, multi-sensory simulation environment that occurs in real time. The aim of this review was to discuss the rationale, criteria of application, limits of the available procedures and the effects of VR in the rehabilitation of patients with stroke and those with cerebral palsy (CP). Seventeen published articles from 1/1/2002 to 1/05/2010 were reviewed. Classification of the available virtual reality setups and comparison among published studies, with focus on the criteria of motor impairment and recovery assessment, rehabilitation procedures, and efficacy were reviewed. The studies completed to date support the application of VR in the treatment of patients after stroke and CP patients. The duration of the rehabilitation effects after discontinuing VR training is crucial and should be determined in controlled follow-up studies