Comparing Walking-Related Everyday Life Tasks of Children with Gait Disorders in a Virtual Reality Setup With a Physical Setup: Cross-Sectional Noninferiority Study

Abstract

Background A frequent rehabilitation goal for children with gait disorders is to practice daily-life walking activities. Unfortunately, these are often difficult to practice in a conventional therapeutic setting. Virtual reality (VR) with head-mounted displays (HMDs) could be a promising approach in neurorehabilitation to train such activities in a safe environment. First, however, we must know whether obstacles in VR are indeed mastered as obstacles. Objective This study aimed to provide information on whether VR is feasible and motivating to induce and practice movements needed to master real obstacles in children and adolescents with gait disorders. Furthermore, this project aims to evaluate which kinds of everyday walking activities are appropriate to be practiced in VR. Methods In this cross-sectional study, participants stepped over a bar, crossed a gap, balanced over a beam, and circumvented stationary obstructions arranged in a course under real physical and virtual conditions wearing a VR HMD. We recorded the respective primary outcomes (step height, step length, step width, and minimal shoulder-obstacle distance) with motion capture. We then calculated the mean differences and 95% CI of the spatiotemporal parameters between the VR and physical setup and later compared them using noninferiority analysis with margins defined a priori by a clinical expert panel. Additionally, the participants responded to a standardized questionnaire while the therapists observed and evaluated their movement performance. Results We recruited 20 participants (mean age 12.0, range 6.6-17.8 years) with various diagnoses affecting their walking ability. At 3.77 (95% CI 1.28 to 6.26) cm, the mean difference in step height of the leading foot in the overstepping task did not exceed the predefined margin of –2 cm, thus signifying noninferiority of the VR condition compared to mastering the physical obstacles. The same was true for step length (–1.75, 95% CI –4.91 to 1.41 cm; margin –10 cm), step width (1.05, 95% CI 0.20 to –1.90 cm; margin 3 cm), and the minimal shoulder-obstacle distance (0.25, 95% CI –0.85 to 0.35 cm; margin –2 cm) in the other tasks. Only the trailing foot in the overstepping task yielded inconclusive results. Conclusions Children with gait disorders perform everyday walking tasks like overstepping, crossing, balancing, or circumventing similarly in physical and VR environments, suggesting that VR could be a feasible therapeutic tool to practice everyday walking tasks.