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Virtual reality therapy helps stroke patients recover faster – Study

I always knew games would one day be so much more than the adolescent distraction my parents accused them of being, and now there’s another study that proves it.

The study, which was conducted at the Elisabeth Bruyere Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, used virtual reality games to treat patients who’d recently suffered strokes and showed tangible improvements to both their balance and how far they could walk afterwards.

Patients were split into two groups – one sitting and one standing – and put through a series of balance-challenging virtual reality games that required them to shift their weight around and stretch their arms in various directions in order to complete basic tasks.

While both groups showed progress over time, the standing group showed the best improvement in their overall balance and the distance they were able to walk in two minutes – an extra 33 metres versus the sitting group’s average of 21 metres.

Dr Hillel Finestone, the study’s senior author, told Reuters Health “We showed that people do improve. We saw improvements in balance. It’s not the be-all, end-all, but we see a good potential.”

Those results offer a strong argument for virtual reality’s increased use in hospitals and therapy rooms the world over as more studies are done and its credibility builds.

[Via Standard Digital]

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