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Abstract
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Introduction: Most individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) take part in continuous rehabilitation programs, which often focus on, and sometimes prioritize, the correct movement and positioning of the limbs (Kułak, Okurowska-Zawada, Sienkiewicz, Paszko-Patej, &Krajewska-Kułak, 2010). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of virtual training on joint position sense in hemiplegic children. Methodology:Twenty boys ranging from 7 to 12 years, fromspecial schools in Tehran, were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups. The devise used for virtual reality intervention was Xbox 360 Kinect (Microsoft, New York, and United State).Gyroscope device was used for measuring elbow’sjoint position sense.Participants in the experimental group took part in the Virtual Reality (VR) program;participants in the control group continued their traditional therapy program. Paired sample t test and independent sample t test were used using SPSS software version 18 at p <0.05 level. Results:Results of independent sample t test showed that although a significant difference was no observed in joint position sense between the experimental and control groups during the pre-test phase (t=0/07; df=18; p=0/944); in the post-test phase,virtual trainingresulted in betterscoresforthe experimental group (t=2/3; df = 18; p=0/03).Based on the results of paired sample t test, virtual trainingresulted in significant progress forjoint position sensein the experimental group(t=4/061; df = 9; p=0/003). Discussion: Our results about using VR systems for patients with CP were in agreement with the findings by Denise Reid. VR intervention results in CP children could be justified by self-efficacy and motor learning theories (Pereira et al, 2014). This type of therapy yields significant improvements for participants, since it lets them explore new experiences that would otherwise be difficult or dangerous.
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