Immersive Virtual Reality in Functional Motor Disorders

Effectiveness of Immersive Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program to Reduce Symptoms Severity and Improve Quality of Life in Patients With Functional Motor Disorders

The study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of a 5-day immersive VR-rehabilitation treatment versus a 5-day conventional rehabilitation treatment in reducing FMDs symptoms severity, assessed by the Simplified Functional Movement Disorders Rating Scale (S- FMDRS).

This is a single-blind, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the superiority of immersive VR distractors combined with graded physical exercises over conventional rehabilitation (without any VR distractors) to reduce FMDs symptoms and improve gait and balance. Patients will be randomized to receive the experimental training (VRG) or the control training (CRG) (allocation ratio 1:1). The primary and secondary outcomes will be measured by the same examiner before (T0), at the end of the treatment (T1), and at three-month follow-up after the end of the treatment (T2). The test order will be the same across all evaluation sessions. The examiner will be blinded to group assignments.

Inclusion criteria were: established diagnosis of FMDs, age ≥ 18 years, and acceptance of the diagnosis.

Exclusion criteria were: prominent dissociative seizures, prominent cognitive and/or physical impairment that precluded signing the informed consent form for study participation based on clinical judgment, incomplete assessment, and questionnaire because of language comprehension difficulties.