Psychological benefits of virtual reality for patients in rehabilitation therapy.
CONTEXT
Whether virtual rehabilitation is beneficial has not been determined.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the psychological benefits of virtual reality in rehabilitation.


DESIGN
An experimental group underwent therapy with a virtual-reality-based exercise bike, and a control group underwent the therapy without virtual-reality equipment.


SETTING
Hospital laboratory.


PATIENTS
30 patients suffering from spinal-cord injury.


INTERVENTION
A designed rehabilitation therapy.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Endurance, Borg's rating-of-perceived-exertion scale, the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD-ACL), and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire.


RESULTS
The differences between the experimental and control groups were significant for AD-ACL calmness and tension.


CONCLUSION
A virtual-reality-based rehabilitation program can ease patients' tension and induce calm.