OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in the rehabilitation of patients with functional ankle instability (FAI). METHODS: Nine databases were researched, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, OVID, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, SinoMed, ResearchGate, and WorldWildScience. The publication date deadline was May 22, 2021. To analyze the effect of VR rehabilitation of FAI, we systematically reviewed the literature using the RevMan 5.4 software. MAIN RESULTS: Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in the analysis, consisting of 137 patients with FAI; 68 of them were in the experimental group, 69 were in the control group, and all were university students. A comparison study was conducted between the two groups in terms of balance function, muscle performance, and proprioception. VR rehabilitation in the treatment of FAI was found to be significantly more effective using a 30-second single-leg standing test than conventional rehabilitation. The angular offset index of VR rehabilitation training was significantly lower than that of conventional balance training (0.66 +/- 0.18 versus 0.95 +/- 0.21; p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: VR rehabilitation is effective at treating FAI. However, RCTs with higher homogeneity are needed to provide a more reliable evidence-based foundation for clinical rehabilitation.

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