Romano A, Favetta M, Summa S, Schirinzi T, Bertini ES, Castelli E, Vasco G, Petrarca M. Upper Body Physical Rehabilitation for Children with Ataxia through IMU-Based Exergame.
J Clin Med 2022;
11:1065. [PMID:
35207341 PMCID:
PMC8876617 DOI:
10.3390/jcm11041065]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Children with ataxia experience balance and movement coordination difficulties and needs intensive physical intervention to maintain functional abilities and counteract the disorder. Exergaming represents a valuable strategy to provide engaging physical intervention to children with ataxia, sustaining their motivation to perform the intervention. This paper aims to describe the effect of a home-conducted exergame-based exercise training for upper body movements control of children with ataxia on their ataxic symptoms, walking ability, and hand dexterity.
METHODS
Eighteen children with ataxia were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Participants in the intervention group were asked to follow a 12-week motor activity program at home using the Niurion® exergame. Blind assessments of participants' ataxic symptoms, dominant and non-dominant hand dexterity, and walking ability were conducted.
RESULTS
On average, the participants performed the intervention for 61.5% of the expected time. At the end of the training, participants in the intervention group showed improved hand dexterity that worsened in the control group.
CONCLUSION
The presented exergame enhanced the participants' hand dexterity. However, there is a need for exergames capable of maintaining a high level of players' motivation in playing. It is advisable to plan a mixed intervention to take care of the multiple aspects of the disorder.
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