Experiences of treadmill walking with non-immersive virtual reality after stroke or acquired brain injury – A qualitative study

OBJECTIVES: It is well known that physical activity levels for persons after stroke or acquired brain injuries do not reach existing recommendations. Walking training is highly important since the ability to walk is considered to be a meaningful occupation for most people, and is often reduced after a brain injury. This suggests a need to innovate stroke rehabilitation, so that forms of walking training that are user-friendly and enjoyable can be provided. METHOD: An interview study was carried out with persons after stroke (n = 8), or acquired brain injury (n = 2) at a rehabilitation unit at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. We used a semi-structured interview guide to investigate experiences and thoughts about walking on a treadmill with non-immersive virtual reality feedback. The contents were analyzed through an inductive approach, using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The virtual reality experience was perceived as enjoyable, exciting, and challenging. Participants stressed that the visual and auditory feedback increased their motivation to walk on a treadmill. However, for some participants, the virtual reality experience was too challenging, and extreme tiredness or fatigue were reported after the walking session. CONCLUSIONS: Participants’ thoughts and experiences indicated that the Virtual Reality walking system could serve as a complement to more traditional forms of walking training. Early after a brain injury, virtual reality could be a way to train the ability to handle individually adapted multisensory input while walking. Obvious benefits were that participants perceived it as engaging and exciting.