Objective To investigate the effects of virtual reality (VR)-based exercise games in children with spastic cerebral palsy, so as to provide evidence for optimizing rehabilitation interventions. Methods A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted among 224 children with spastic cerebral palsy who received rehabilitation treatment at the Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture from March 2024 to January 2025. The participants were randomly assigned to observation group and control group using a random number table, with 112 children in each group. The control group received conventional rehabilitation therapy, while the observation group received additional VR-based exercise game training for 16 weeks. Gross motor function, balance, and spasticity of the gastrocnemius and adductor muscles were assessed using the Gross Motor Function Measure 88 (GMFM-88), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), respectively, at 1 day before treatment, after 8 weeks of treatment, and after 16 weeks of treatment. Independent-samples t-test and repeated-measures analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis. Result Before intervention, there were no significant differences on GMFM-88 scores, BBS scores, and MAS scores for both the gastrocnemius and adductor muscles between the observation group and control group (P＞0.05). Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the main effects of time and group, as well as their interaction effects, were statistically significant for all four indicators (P<0.001). After 16 weeks of treatment, the observation group exhibited significantly higher GMFM-88 (51.60±14.27 vs. 44.37±13.69, t=3.869) and BBS scores (28.35±3.63 vs. 24.57±3.06, t=8.426) compared with the control group. Conversely, the MAS scores for the gastrocnemius (2.12±0.38 vs. 2.50±0.47, t=-6.654) and adductor muscles (2.07±0.35 vs. 2.58±0.52, t=-8.611) were significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion VR-based exercise games may be a useful adjunct to conventional rehabilitation for improving motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy.
Key words
virtual reality /
exercise game /
spastic cerebral palsy /
gross motor function /
balance /
rehabilitation /
children
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