sability, applicability, and therapeutic potential of Different Virtual Reality Systems in patients with Neurological, Rheumatological, and Orthopedic Injuries

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is chronic and progressive, manifested by both motor and non-motor symptoms, as anxiety. Anxiety occurs in more than 50% of patients. Rehabilitation in PD is more focused on controlling motor symptoms. However, non- motor symptoms affect the independence, functionality, and motivation. Purpose: The present study aimed to compare the effects of immersive virtual reality (IVR) and non immersive - NIVR training on anxiety and cognition in PD patients. Methods: Two VR devices were used: Nintendo Wii (NIVR) and Samsung Gear VR (IVR). A convenience sample of 60 participants were distributed into 3 groups: no intervention control group (CG) and training groups (IVR and NIVR). All were evaluated in the Baseline (T1), 7 days after (T7), and 30 days after training (T30). Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) Semantic Verbal Fluency test (VF), and Digits subtest in reverse order (DR) were evaluted. Intervention protocol consisted of 10 sessions, 1 hour, twice a week, for 5 weeks. According to the motor and cognitive requirements of games, 4 games were selected for each VR system. Friedman test was used for comparing groups at different times (P=0.05). Results: The findings revealed a significant decrease in the BAI score in the IVR group (F=15,217; p<0.001) between T1 (8,5 ± 12,8) and T7 (6,1 ± 11,4) and between T1(8,5 ± 12,8) and T30 (4,5 ± 8,9 ). No significant differences were found between T7 (6,1 ± 11,4) and T30 (4,5 ± 8,9). Conclusion: No significant differences were found using NIVR and no significant differences were found CG either.