Abstract
Current guidelines against spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) interrupt non-essential rehabilitation services. Thus, individuals with physical disabilities such as children with cerebral palsy can no longer benefit from physical rehabilitation during this undetermined period. Using either a synchronous or asynchronous format, in collaboration with a therapist via telerehabilitation, we suggest that active video games and low-cost virtual reality are a promising delivery mode for at-home rehabilitation in the context of a global pandemic. This therapeutic modality, incorporated into an at-home individualized treatment plan, provides a means to lessen the impact of an interruption in rehabilitation services while not loosing the pre-pandemic, in-person physical activity gains. Growing evidence supports active video games and low-cost virtual reality as viable therapeutic interventions for children with physical disabilities. These technologies are especially well-accepted by pediatric populations for the ludic and motivating features that lend themselves to nearly seamless incorporation into telerehabilitation. Advantages for rehabilitation of active video games and low-cost virtual reality include a rich, challenging, multi-modal training environment in which high numbers of movement repetitions can be accomplished, and a unique opportunity to foster engaged practice actions that go beyond household activities. We offer suggestions for the clinician about how to adopt active video games and low-cost virtual reality into your practice during a global pandemic.
Highlights
Current strategies to combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) involve flattening the incidence curve and reducing the rate of spread, such as social distancing, school closures, and confinement of the population [1,2,3]
We propose that in-home therapy which enlists engaging technologies such as active video gaming and low-cost virtual reality, offers a promising solution to minimize the impact of long-term interruptions in rehabilitation services
To demonstrate how rehabilitation services can be offered at home using a virtual reality platform, we focus on systems and applications adapted to the home context, including commercially available active video games and lowcost virtual reality applications (AVG/VR)
Summary
Current strategies to combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) involve flattening the incidence curve and reducing the rate of spread, such as social distancing, school closures, and confinement of the population [1,2,3]. The large penetration rate of commercial video games consoles such as the WiiTM facilitates its accessibility Another limitation is that many active video games do not all offer sufficient control over the difficulty progression and the task difficulty level may not be suitable for children with more severe motor impairments [48]. Many studies from different research groups demonstrate the feasibility to deliver in-home rehabilitation using AVG/VR (either with or without telerehabilitation) for children and adolescents with physical disabilities [64,65,66,67,68] These studies, along with the increasing evidence to support the use of AVG/VR for pediatric physical rehabilitation highlight the potential that this emergent technology has if delivered in participants’ home to improve task outcomes and motor function in the current global pandemic
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