Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Protocol for Sensory-motor Rehabilitation After a Stoke

Participants of the experimental group will undergo treatment with Virtual Reality, both IVR and HB. The intervention will consist of 12 sessions lasting about 1 hour each and carried out with a frequency of three days per week within four weeks. Before starting the rehabilitation, arm illusion with the Handbox is inducted to explore the ability of the patients to perceive the virtual arm as their own. During this task, patients sit on a chair with the injured arm inside the Handbox and are invited to perform slow movements with the hand, such as moving the fingers one at a time and moving the wrist up and down. Moreover, they are invited to keep their attention to the virtual arm project on the screen that follows their natural movements. The arm illusion lasts 3 minutes, and the embodiment questionnaire is administered. Then, the treatment starts with IVR and HB sessions, which are counterbalanced to avoid the learning effect

Participants randomly assigned to the control group will receive rehabilitation treatment as per usual clinical practice. Specifically, patients will be directed to rehabilitation facilities according to standard clinical rehabilitation pathways. They will be assigned to a physiotherapist who will administer the rehabilitation treatment for the upper limb impairment. Patients in the control group will receive the same amount of rehabilitation for the recovery of upper limb impairment as the treatment group, which means 3 physiotherapy sessions lasting 1 hour 3 times a week for 4 weeks.