VIRTUAL REALITY VERSUS TRADITIONAL STROKE MANAGEMENT IN IMPROVING ACTIVITY OF DAILY LIVING BALANCE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL

Background: Loss of balance and Activity of daily living commonly compromised in stroke patients. Conventional physical therapy CPT) showed promising result in the rehabilitation of stroke, but these effects are very slow. Virtual reality (VR) technology is an adjunctive therapy that could be applied in neurorehabilitation in conjunction with conventional physical therapy. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of virtual reality and conventional physical therapy (CPT) for stroke management in improving activities of daily living and balance. Methodology: A total of n=30 participants with sub-acute ischemic stroke, aged between 45-65 years, were divided into group A and group B. The group A received virtual reality training (VRT) with conventional physical therapy (CPT) for stroke management, while Group B received conventional physical therapy (CPT). The activities of daily living (ADLs) were assessed through Barthel index and balance was assessed through Balance Berg Scale (BBS). The data was collected at baseline, 2nd week, 4th week and after 6th week of intervention. The mixed ANOVA and One way MANCOVA was applied to see the interaction and main effects. The data was analyzed using SPSS 21. Results: The mean age of study participants of Group A was 51.533±4.82 years and Group B was 52.53±5.01 years. There is significant interaction effect between interventions and level of assessment in Balance score {F=11.705(1.683, 47.134), p<.001, ηp2=.295} as well as activity of daily living {F=4.782(2.209, 61.841), p=.010, ηp2=.146} after 6 week intervention. Conclusion: Both groups were effective in improving ADLs and balance but VR was more effective as compared to traditional balance exercises. Keywords: activities of daily living, acute stroke, balance, physical therapy, virtual reality