ArticleDigital health
Research hotspots and trends in virtual reality combined exercise therapy for stroke rehabilitation: A bibliometric analysis.
Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality and long-term disability worldwide. In recent years, integrated rehabilitation models that combine virtual reality (VR) technology with standardized exercise therapy have emerged, demonstrating promising potential in improving recovery outcomes. Objective: This bibliometric review systematically analyzes global literature on virtual reality combined with exercise therapy for stroke rehabilitation to map the knowledge landscape, identify research hotspots and evolutionary trends, and inform future research, clinical practice, and policy. Methods: Relevant studies on VR combined with exercise therapy for stroke rehabilitation were retrieved from the Web of Science database, covering the period from database inception to 2025. Bibliometric and visualization analyses were conducted using CiteSpace and VOSviewer to assess publication trends, country, institutional contributions, authors and co-cited authors networks, highly cited references, core journals, and the evolution of research hotspots. Results: A total of 1,687 articles were identified, showing a steady upward publication trend. China ranked first in publication volume, while the United States had the highest total citation count. Researchers such as Calabrò, De Luca, and Naro from the IRCCS Centro Neurolesi in Messina, Italy, made notable contributions, particularly in VR-robotics combined rehabilitation. The Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of VR combined with exercise therapy in stroke rehabilitation, identifying key research hotspots, emerging trends, and existing limitations. The findings could offer theoretical insights and data-driven evidence to support future research and clinical applications in this field.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.