Comparing the Effects of Virtual Reality Breathing Exercise and Incentive Spirometry Exercise on Improving Pulmonary Function in Children with Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy.

Abstract

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have a higher incidence of respiratory dysfunction than healthy children. Virtual reality breathing therapy is an assistive technology that is becoming popular in the rehabilitation of children with CP. This experimental study included a total of 32 children with spastic diplegic CP who were divided into two groups: the virtual reality breathing training (VRBT) group and the incentive spirometry (IST) group. Individuals classified as levels I to III on the gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) were recruited using the simple random sampling method. The results of comparing the values of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1), and the ratio of FVC/FEV1 showed a significant difference between groups. A significant difference was found in the VRBT group compared to the IST group, except for the peak expiratory flow (PEF) values, which showed a nonsignificant difference between the groups. There were significant differences in FVC and FEV1 between the VRBT and IST groups. It has been concluded that VRBT has additional benefits in improving pulmonary functions.