Effects of Virtual Reality Based Rehabilitation on Burned Hands a Prospective, Randomized, Single Blined Study

Appropriate rehabilitation is important to ensure that good functional recovery is achieved. Burned hands are usually treated and managed by a multidisciplinary team at a burn center to conservatively manage hypertrophic scars. Rehabilitation of the burned hand should be initiated in the acute stages to set individualized positioning, splinting and exercise for functional activity. Frequent exercises throughout the day are more beneficial than one intensive exercise. Repeated range of motion (ROM) exercises are helpful in decreasing edema and conditioning the tissue. Despite adequate rehabilitation of the burned hand, hand functional disorders may occur. Many interventions have been developed and trialed for patients with burns; however, hand rehabilitation tools are limited and remain controversial.

Recent studies have recommended that for the functional recovery of upper extremity disorder, repetitive exercises using VR have been useful. Task-specific training has been shown to be more effective when tasks were ordered in a random practice sequence using repetition and positive feedback. VR is an interactive and enjoyable intervention. VR creates a virtual rehabilitation scene in which the intensity of practice can be systemically manipulated. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of VR-based rehabilitation on burned hands, and compare the results to those of matched CON rehabilitation in patients with burns.