A non-immersive virtual reality-based intervention to enhance lower-extremity motor function and gait in patients with subacute cerebral infarction: A pilot randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up

IntroductionThis study was conducted to evaluate whether a non-immersive virtual reality (VR)-based intervention can enhance lower extremity movement in patients with cerebral infarction and whether it has greater short-term and long-term effectiveness than conventional therapies (CTs). Materials and methodsThis was a single-blinded, randomized clinical controlled trial. Forty-four patients with subacute cerebral infarction were randomly allocated to the VR or CT group. All intervention sessions were delivered in the inpatient unit for 3 weeks. Outcomes were measured before (baseline) and after the interventions and at 3-month, 6-month and 1-year follow-ups. The outcomes included clinical assessments of movement and balance function using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and gait parameters in the sagittal plane. ResultsIn the VR group, the walking speed after intervention, at 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year follow-ups were significantly greater than baseline (p = 0.01,