Immersive virtual reality for shoulder rehabilitation: evaluation of a physical therapy program executed with oculus quest 2

BACKGROUND: Virtual Reality (VR) systems have been increasingly used across several medical fields. A crucial preliminary step for developing optimized VR-based applications for rehabilitation purposes is identifying potential interventions to meet the requirements necessary to satisfy end-users’ needs. This study aims to assess the acceptability, usability, and appropriateness of a VR physical therapy program executed with Oculus Quest 2 by expert physiotherapists of shoulder musculoskeletal rehabilitation. METHODS: Eleven physiotherapists were enrolled to test a VR program for shoulder musculoskeletal rehabilitation. At the end of each session, physiotherapists completed three questionnaires about the acceptability, usability, and appropriateness of the VR system and application, investigating aspects such as wearability, safety, stability, ease of control, comfort, size, utility, playability, and use mode. RESULTS: The acceptability questionnaire revealed that all the physiotherapists found the VR system easy to wear and control, very confident, and safe. The usability questionnaire showed that most physiotherapists (73%) found the VR application entertaining, although only 45% said the system could be used independently by patients without the support of a therapist. Many physiotherapists found the use of the VR application appropriate for patients with rotator cuff tears treated conservatively (63.6%) or surgically (54.5%), for patients with shoulder osteoarthritis treated conservatively (72.7%), for patients with shoulder osteoarthritis after surgical treatment (63.6%). 91% of physiotherapists think it would be best for patients to use the VR system under the supervision of a therapist and not independently in a home setting. CONCLUSIONS: The use of VR in orthopaedic rehabilitation is encouraging, although further efforts are needed to increase the independent use of patients without the supervision of a physiotherapist. Moreover, future studies should strive to ensure the clinical effectiveness of VR rehabilitation in reaching therapeutic goal settings.