Effect of Virtual Reality-Based Therapy Combined with Conventional Physiotherapy versus Conventional Physiotherapy Alone on Balance, Gait Speed, Postural Stability, and Functional Mobility in Patients with Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial
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Background: Stroke commonly causes persistent impairments in balance, postural control, walking, and functional mobility. Virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation may supplement conventional physiotherapy through repetitive, task-oriented practice and augmented feedback. Objective: To compare VR-based therapy combined with conventional physiotherapy with conventional physiotherapy alone for improving balance, postural stability, gait speed, and functional mobility in patients with stroke. Methods: This prospective parallel-group randomized controlled trial included 40 patients aged 40–70 years with first-ever stroke, randomly allocated to experimental (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. The experimental group received 15 minutes of VR-based therapy plus 15 minutes of conventional physiotherapy, whereas the control group received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy, three sessions weekly for six weeks. Outcomes were measured using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS), 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Results: Both groups improved significantly across all outcomes (p<0.001). Post-intervention differences favoured the experimental group for BBS (6.25 points; 95% CI 3.57–8.93), PASS (4.55 points; 95% CI 2.65–6.45), 10MWT (0.17 m/s; 95% CI 0.09–0.25), and TUG (−2.96 s; 95% CI −4.28 to −1.64), all p<0.001. Conclusion: Incorporating VR-based therapy into time-matched conventional physiotherapy produced greater short-term improvements in balance, postural stability, gait speed, and functional mobility than conventional physiotherapy alone
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