Virtual Reality Upper Limb Therapy for People With Spinal Cord Injury

This study aims to test if the VR games could be a form of upper limb rehabilitation for people with arm/hand problems due to SCI while they are in hospital. Participants who have had a spinal cord injury and have tetraplegia will be recruited from the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit. After they have provided informed consent, they will receive 12 weeks of either standard upper limb therapy ('control group'), or both the VR activities and standard treatment ('VR Group'). Participants who receive VR activities will engage in immersive VR games that have been designed in co-production with people with tetraplegia and spinal cord injury specialists. The games aim to help participants improve the use of their arms and hands while they are undergoing primary rehabilitation within the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit (QENSIU). The participants who are in the control group will receive their usual rehabilitation and will be given the opportunity to try the VR games after the completion of their involvement in the trial. This study will measure the feasibility (the 'primary outcome') and explore the effectiveness (the 'secondary outcome') of the VR intervention. Feasibility will be measured by recording how often the VR games are used and whether or not participants use the games for the full duration of the trial. Participants and therapists will be interviewed at the end of the trial.