Virtual reality for gait rehabilitation - promises, proofs and preferences

Improving walking speed and quality after illness or injury presents a number of challenges, not least of which is keeping patients engaged with therapy which they may find boring or painful. The rapidly developing area of virtual reality offers technology which can track users movements and use them to drive interactions in virtual worlds. This paper examines the potential of virtual reality to ameliorate pain and to improve rehabilitation adherence and outcomes. The role of hardware and software in mediating movement is discussed, and key elements identified which may have a significant effect on optimising VR systems for rehabilitation outcomes.