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.