Playing this video loads it from YouTube (Google), which may store data on your device. See YouTube's privacy policy and our privacy and cookies page.
Does VR Improve Hand Dexterity After Stroke?
How hand dexterity is measured in rehabilitation, and what a 2025 meta-analysis of immersive virtual reality for upper limb recovery after stroke shows.
Chapters
We explain the difference between gross and fine dexterity, the most common outcome measures (Box and Block Test, Nine-Hole Peg Test, Purdue Pegboard, Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test and Action Research Arm Test), and walk through a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis on immersive virtual reality in stroke rehabilitation, including what the results can and cannot tell clinicians.
Key findings
- Headset-based immersive VR gave a small average extra gain over conventional rehabilitation on the Box and Block Test, a test of gross dexterity: 2.85 blocks (95% CI 0.70 to 4.99; 5 trials). The trials disagreed substantially (I² = 93%), and the authors give no GRADE rating.
- On the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), the difference was not statistically significant. Fine dexterity was not pooled.
- The average gain is below the thresholds used to judge change in an individual patient: the authors’ 6-block threshold, and a smallest real difference of about 5.5 blocks for the more affected hand. As a group average, it cannot show how many patients improved meaningfully.
- The authors recommend immersive VR as a complement within a wider rehabilitation programme, not a standalone treatment. The clinician’s part is matching tasks to each patient’s hand goals and checking progress with these tests.
Sources
- Kenea CD, Abessa TG, Lamba D, Bonnechère B. Immersive Virtual Reality in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Its Efficacy in Upper Limb Recovery. J Clin Med 2025;14(6):1783. DOI: 10.3390/jcm14061783
- Laver KE, et al. Virtual reality for stroke rehabilitation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2025;6:CD008349. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008349.pub5
- Chen HM, et al. Test-retest reproducibility and smallest real difference of 5 hand function tests in patients with stroke. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2009;23(5):435-40. PubMed 19261767
Further reading
- VR and hand dexterity after stroke: is the gain clinically meaningful?
- VR in Rehabilitation: a Therapist’s Guide
This video is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Narration voice is AI-generated.