The combined effects of virtual reality with motor imagery techniques in patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

A 60-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman, diagnosed with Parkinson's disease received virtual reality (VR) and motor imagery (MI) with routine physical therapy (PT) treatment to improve balance, motor function and activities of daily living for a total of 60 minutes each session, three visits per week for 12 weeks and follow-up on week 16. This case report revealed 15 and 18 points improvement in motor function on Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III (UPDRS) in male and female patients and in Activities of daily living on UPDRS-part II for 9 and 8 points for male and female patients respectively. The Berg Balance Score (BBS) score also improved with a clinically significant change of 9 and 11 points in male and female patients, respectively. The male and female patients reported a significant improvement in their balance, confidence on the Activities-specific balance confidence scale (ABC) scale as 14% and 16% were observed, respectively. VR in combination with MI in addition to routine Physical Therapy showed improvement in outcomes for the 2 patients presented in this case report.