EFFECTIVENESS OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN IMPROVING BALANCE AND GAIT AMONG STROKE SUBJECTS

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide with substainally increasing mortality and morbidity rate. Motor and sensory impairments resultıng from stroke subsquently decreases balance and gaıt pattern which might also limit the ability of stroke surviours to independently participate in day to day activites. Virtual reality is an emerging approach in rehabilitation. Training based on VR along with conventional physiotherapy can improve equilibirum after stroke This study compares the effectiveness of virtual reality training and conventional physiotherapy in improving balance and gait. METHODS: 10 subjects were selected using simple random sampling method. Group A (n=5) received virtual reality along with Conventional physiotherapy and Group B (n=5) received Conventional physiotherapy alone. The total duration of the study was about three months and treatment duration were 6 weeks. RESULTS: Pre and post-test values of balance and gait was measured using BBS, TUG and DGI. In statistical analysis pre-pre comparison was not significant however post-post comparison was statistically significant with paired sample t test value of 2.776 and unpaired sample t test value of 2.306 with level of significance set at p-0.05. CONCLUSION: Thus, the result indicates that virtual reality training along with conventional physiotherapy has significant effect on improving balance and gait when compared to conventional physiotherapy alone. Therefore, VRT may be beneficial in increasing the balance and gait among stroke subjects.