Virtual Reality for Assessment of Chronic Lower Back Pain in Physiotherapy - Task Selection, Design, and User Experience Evaluation

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) presents a significant challenge in healthcare, requiring effective tools for rehabilitation and assessment.This study explores the use of virtual reality (VR) for assessment of physical function in patients with CLBP, and investigates how movements and tasks can be designed for assessment purposes.The focus is on physiotherapists' perceptions of using VR regarding task design, feasibility, and user experience.We conducted three design workshops with physiotherapists and HCI researchers, and designed three VR applications that we evaluated with six physiotherapy students.The study provides valuable insights into participants' perceptions and highlights promising and challenging aspects of using VR in physiotherapy assessment.We found the approach to be useful and have potential.However, additional focus is needed on task design, measures of physical function, and designing for body size diversity.This study lays the groundwork for designing physiotherapeutic assessment of patients with CLBP.