{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T17:01:55Z","timestamp":1789664515828,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757894400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Rehabilitative training using fully immersive virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising method for improving motor function in patients with stroke. We evaluated the efficacy of VR technology as an adjunctive therapy in stroke rehabilitation.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A VR program was designed by the research team to facilitate the movement of the paralyzed arm, and participation was offered to inpatients on a voluntary basis at a university-affiliated Rehabilitation Medicine Center. A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with subacute stroke who were selected without bias between November 2015 and January 2020. Clinical outcomes were compared between the VR-received (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f30) and the control groups (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f14), which received only conventional rehabilitation. Outcome measures included the Fugl\u2013Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity, modified Barthel Index, Functional Independence Measure, Mini-Mental Status Examination, and Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, performed before and after each treatment, and changes in the scores between the two time points were measured. A subgroup analysis was conducted according to the number of VR interventions in the VR group. Multivariate regression was used to control for confounding variables.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>There were no significant differences in baseline demographic characteristics and functional abilities between the two groups, except for a longer interval between the pre- and post-assessments in the control group (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01). The VR group showed a significantly greater improvement in Fugl\u2013Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity scores on the affected side than the control group did (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.01). Multivariate analysis identified VR intervention as an independent predictor of motor improvement (<jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f15.78), whereas delayed rehabilitation onset was negatively associated with recovery (<jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f\u22120.83).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>In this case-control study, the findings suggest that incorporating fully immersive VR-based training in rehabilitation may enhance upper limb function recovery in patients with stroke in the subacute phase. Further randomized controlled studies are required to confirm these findings.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2025.1653749","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T04:13:17Z","timestamp":1757909597000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Role of fully-immersive virtual reality for paretic arm recovery in stroke rehabilitation"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Seyoung","family":"Shin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gyoseok","family":"Hwang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yubin","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"EunYoung","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong Rae","family":"Cho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongsuk","family":"Baik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"MinYoung","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2233094","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2022.33094","article-title":"Multifaceted assessment of functional outcomes in survivors of first-time stroke","volume":"5","author":"Shin","year":"2022","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1449729","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2024.1449729","article-title":"Research trends and hotspots of post-stroke upper limb dysfunction: a bibliometric and visualization 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