Walking Practice Combined with Virtual Reality Contributes to Early Acquisition of Symmetry Prosthetic Walking: An Experimental Study Using Simulated Prosthesis

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation has been used in lower limb amputees; however, the extent to which VR is effective in reacquiring symmetrical gait in lower limb amputees is unclear. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether a VR intervention is effective in obtaining a simulated prosthetic gait. The participants were 24 healthy males who had never worn a simulated prosthesis. They were divided into three groups: VR, tablet, and control groups. The intervention consisted of 5 min of in situ stepping on parallel bars and watching a video of a simulated prosthetic leg walker on a head-mounted display or a tablet. Measurements included Gait Up parameters during a 10-m walk and immersion scores. After the intervention, there was a significant interaction between walking speed and leg swing speed in the VR group. The rate of improvement in walking speed and immersion scores was significantly higher in the VR group than in the other two groups, and there was a significant positive correlation between the rate of improvement and immersion scores. Compared to the tablet and control groups, the VR group showed the highest rate of immersion and improvement in walking speed.

Research Hotspots and Trends in the Research on the Application of VR in Rehabilitation Medicine

“…In recent years, VR technology, as a frontier technology in rehabilitation medicine, has shown great advantages and is more widely used in multiple fields, such as neurological rehabilitation, pediatric rehabilitation, orthopedic rehabilitation, etc. For example, the use of a commercial wearable head-mounted display (HMD) and selected VR motion games for Parkinson's disease to maintain physical and functional abilities has shown good disease management effects [2]; a VR-based interactive cognitive training (VICT) system shows good effects for cognitive rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children [3]; VR technology can also be combined with existing rehabilitation methods, such as walking exercises combined with virtual reality, which can improve gait and balance problems more significantly [4].…”

Areas of Research Focus and Trends in the Research on the Application of VR in Rehabilitation Medicine

“…In recent years, VR technology, as a frontier technology in rehabilitation medicine, has shown great advantages and is increasingly used in multiple fields, such as neurological rehabilitation, pediatric rehabilitation, orthopedic rehabilitation, etc. For example, the use of a commercial wearable head-mounted display (HMD) and selected VR motion games for Parkinson's disease to maintain physical and functional abilities has shown good disease-management effects [2]; a VR-based interactive cognitive training (VICT) system shows good effects on the cognitive rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children [3]; and VR technology can also be combined with existing rehabilitation methods, such as walking exercises combined with virtual reality, which can improve gait and balance problems significantly [4].…”