Virtual reality in physical rehabilitation: a narrative review and critical reflection

Abstract

Background

Digital technologies are increasingly more ubiquitous with every passing year and have the potential to revolutionize how humans interact. In the realm of physical rehabilitation, the use of virtual reality (VR) is an area that has continued to see growth as a technology that could allow for new avenues of physical therapy practice.

Objectives

This manuscript starts with a narrative review of the emergence of virtual reality technology for use in rehabilitation and the original vision of this relationship as a means to understand its trajectory for the future. We then consider the current benefits and harms of using virtual reality technologies in the physical rehabilitation space.

Major Findings

VR technologies are becoming smaller and cheaper with every given year, with many new applications in physical rehabilitation (e.g. restoration of range of motion or pain control). We appear to be at a point in history where VR may be able to be successfully used on a wider scale in physical rehabilitation. The use of VR in physical rehabilitation has potential, but greater effort is required to elucidate its standardized operating procedures as well to guide the ethics in its use. Clinicians may also need to learn new competencies to implement VR effectively.

Conclusions

Collaboration is required between patients, clinicians, and scientists to help guide the use of VR within physical rehabilitation. This work is intended to act as a resource to clinicians and scientists in the field looking to develop a greater understanding of VR within physical rehabilitation.

Keywords:

• Virtual reality
• telerehabilitation
• physical therapy practice
• gamification
• physical rehabilitation

Disclosures statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Michael J. Lukacs

Michael Lukacs Michael is a Physiotherapist and Research Associate with the School of Physical Therapy at Western University. His research interests lie in the exploration of mechanisms in the development of chronic pain, specifically within the areas of Neck Pain and Whiplash-Associated Disorders.

Shahan Salim

Shahan Salim Shahan is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. His research interests are focused on the design and development as well as the implementation of public health surveillance technologies.

Michael J. Katchabaw

Michael Katchabaw Michael is a Associate Professor within the department of Computer Science at Western University. His research interests lie in game design, adaptive game systems, and game curriculum in academia.

Euson Yeung

Euson Yeung Euson Yeung is a Physiotherapist and an Assistant Professor in the department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. His research interests lie in improving the quality of health care delivery through the optimization of health care education.

David M. Walton

David Walton David is a Physiotherapist and Associate Professor within the School of Physical Therapy at Western University. His research interests are focused on assessment as well as prognosis in acute and chronic pain, especially in pain arising from musculoskeletal traumas.