Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Game on Functional Movement and Activities of Daily Living in Hemiparetic Stroke Patients

Independent activities of daily living (ADLs) performance are recognized as a major goal of stroke rehabilitation. Recently, virtual reality training using a video game is considered as an effective approach to improve functional activity of stroke patients. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of virtual reality game using a wii fit balance board on functional movement and ADLs of hemiparetic stroke patients. 20 subjects were randomly allocated into two groups: the virtual reality game training (n = 10) and control groups (n = 10). Both groups participated in standard rehabilitation program for 6 weeks. In addition, virtual reality game training group participated in virtual reality game training for 30 minutes per day, 3 times a week, for 6 weeks. Virtual reality game training program consisted of balance bubble, ski slalom, ski jump, soccer heading, table tiling, and the penguin slide was conducted with the Wii-Fit balance board. After 6 weeks virtual reality game training, significant improvement observed in functional movement and ADL performance in the virtual reality game training group compared to the control group. Findings of this study demonstrated that the virtual reality game training has an effective on functional movement and ADL performance in hemiparetic stroke patients when added to standard rehabilitation.