Virtual Reality as a Motor Performance Therapy
As reported on Cerebral Palsy News Today, a recent study titled “Effect of virtual reality therapy on functional development in children with cerebral palsy: A single-blind, prospective, randomized-controlled study” details efforts to measure whether VR can help children with Cerebral Palsy develop better motor skills.
Cerebral Palsy is a broad term that describes a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to physically control and move their body. Often, children with CP have difficulty with coordination.
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One treatment strategy that can improve a child’s coordination and mobility is to do motor function therapy. This often involves doing repetitive exercises to strengthen and improve a child’s mobility and coordination.
Therapists are now exploring using VR to make these exercises more fun and rewarding. In other words, they are gamifying the therapy process.
Children play games like basketball, swimming, tennis, baseball, and so on. Children must get their bodies moving to operate the controls and win the games. The study concluded that there were “significant improvements in the function and mobility in the CP patients receiving VR therapy,” which is great news for families affected by Cerebral Palsy.
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Sources
Virtual Reality Game Therapy Improves Motor Function for CP Children, Study Suggests. (2020). Cerebral Palsy News Today. Retrieved 10 January 2020, from https://cerebralpalsynewstoday.com/2020/01/08/using-virtual-reality-game-therapy-improves-motor-function-cp-children/
