Abstract
(1) Background: Virtual reality (VR) is a useful device for rehabilitation therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of virtual reality exercise program on sitting balance with spinal cord injury; (2) Methods: 20 subjects who selected on the basis of the screening criteria were divided into the experimental group (n = 10) who underwent the virtual reality exercise program and rehabilitation therapy and the control group (n = 10) who underwent a regular sitting balance training program and a regular rehabilitation therapy. Each intervention consisted of a 30-min session a day, three times a week, for eight weeks. In order to measure functions of the sitting balance, FSA (force sensitive application) and LOS (limit of stability) were used before and after the treatment intervention; (3) Results: We found significant differences for the FSA, LOS between pre-test and post-test in the 2 groups; (4) Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that virtual reality exercise program can be applied as a useful approach for spinal cord injury patients.
Highlights
Spinal Cord Injury Patients.Spinal cord injury is caused by diseases or trauma of spinal nerve tissue
The sitting balance ability in patients with spinal cord injury is an important goal of rehabilitation because it plays an important role in maintaining an independent daily life [4]
Visual feedback from virtual reality integrates the senses of subjects whose vestibular sensation, somatosensory, and visual information are mixed up or it can be used as sensory exercise training to improve the subject’s static and dynamic posture control, thereby enhancing their trunk control and balance ability [7]
Summary
Spinal cord injury is caused by diseases or trauma of spinal nerve tissue. Loss of motor and sensory functions and muscle weakness associated with spinal cord injury impair patient’s sitting postural balance ability [3]. Various virtual reality-based methods that enable patients to perform tasks according to their rehabilitation purpose have been introduced to increase the patient’s interest and participation in the treatment and to enhance their functional activity [5]. Several studies have reported the benefits of virtual reality therapy; intensive sensory input around the damaged spinal cord using the patient’s visual and auditory feedback from the virtual reality system along with stimulation on the sensory motor cortex was shown to help restore the damaged spinal cord and improve their balance activity [8,9]. Game-based virtual reality training was shown to increase patient’s concentration and motivation by arousing their
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