Article

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of virtual reality-based balance
exercises to conventional balance exercises during vestibular rehabilitation in
patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular loss (UVL). DESIGN:
Assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial. SETTING:
Two acute care university
teaching hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with UVL (N=71) who had
dizziness/vertigo, and gait and balance impairment. INTERVENTIONS: Patients with
UVL were randomly assigned to receive 6 weeks of either conventional (n=36) or
virtual reality-based (n=35) balance exercises during vestibular rehabilitation.
The virtual reality-based group received an off-the-shelf virtual reality gaming
system for home exercise, and the conventional group received a foam balance mat.
Treatment comprised weekly visits to a physiotherapist and a daily home exercise
program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was self-preferred gait
speed. Secondary outcomes included other gait parameters and tasks, Sensory
Organization Test (SOT), dynamic visual acuity, Hospital Anxiety and Depression
Scale, Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefits Questionnaire, and Activities Balance
Confidence Questionnaire. The subjective experience of vestibular rehabilitation
was measured with a questionnaire. RESULTS: Both groups improved, but there were
no significant differences in gait speed between the groups postintervention
(mean difference, -.03m/s; 95% confidence interval [CI], -.09 to .02m/s). There
were also no significant differences between the groups in SOT scores (mean
difference, .82%; 95% CI, -5.00% to 6.63%) or on any of the other secondary
outcomes (P>.05). In both groups, adherence to exercise was high ( approximately
77%), but the virtual reality-based group reported significantly more enjoyment
(P=.001), less difficulty with (P=.009) and less tiredness after (P=.03) balance
exercises. At 6 months, there were no significant between-group differences in
physical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality-based balance exercises performed
during vestibular rehabilitation were not superior to conventional balance
exercises during vestibular rehabilitation but may provide a more enjoyable
method of retraining balance after unilateral peripheral vestibular loss.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS