Virtual reality has a promising role in orthopaedic rehabilitation

Virtual reality can help people with chronic neck pain and shoulder impingement syndrome and will play a wider part in rehabilitation in the future, experts highlight in Physical Therapy.

Virtual reality is an interactive technology that allows customised treatment and patient-centred rehabilitation. A team decided to review the evidence about its effectiveness in orthopaedic rehabilitation and found that:

“The evidence of virtual reality effectiveness is promising in chronic neck pain and shoulder impingement syndrome. Virtual reality and exercises have similar effects in rheumatoid arthritis, knee arthritis, ankle instability, and post-anterior cruciate reconstruction.”

But there is a lack of evidence when it comes to virtual reality and for fibromyalgia, back pain and rehabilitation after knee replacement surgery, so more research needs to be done in these areas.

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