Efficacy of neurodevelopmental treatment combined with the Nintendo^® Wii in patients with cerebral palsy

Abstract

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of Nintendo® Wii games in addition to neurodevelopmental treatment in patients with cerebral palsy. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty hemiparetic cerebral palsy patients (16 females, 14 males; mean age, 6–15 years) were included in the study and divided into two groups: a neurodevelopmental treatment+Nintendo Wii group (group 1, n=15) and a neurodevelopmental treatment group (group 2, n=15). Both groups received treatment in 45-minute sessions 2 days/week for six weeks. Use of the upper extremities, speed, disability and functional independence were evaluated using the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test, Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test, ABILHAND-Kids test, and Pediatric Functional Independence Measure (self-care) before and after treatment. [Results] There were statistically significant improvements in all parameters for group 1 and group 2 (except quality of function) after six weeks of treatment. Intergroup analysis showed that group 1 was superior to group 2 in mean change differences in the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test. [Conclusion] Our results showed that neurodevelopmental treatment is effective for improving hand functions in hemiplegic cerebral palsy. To provide a enjoyable, motivational, safe, and effective rehabilitation program, the Nintendo® Wii may be used in addition to neurodevelopmental treatment.

Effectiveness of training with motion-controlled commercial video games for hand and arm function in people with cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The experimental interventions used in the trials were all commercial gaming consoles. Five trials used the Nintendo Wii (38,40,(42)(43)(44), 2 used Xbox 360 (37,39) and one used PlayStation 2 with EyeToy (41), all of which contain motion controllers or a camera that scans the user's movements in order to play the games. Four trials used Wii Sport as the intervention (38,40,42,44), one used Wii Fit (43), 2 used Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures (37,39) and one used EyeToy minigames (41).…”

“…One trial had an intervention period of 3 weeks (40), 3 trials had a period of 6 weeks (38,41,44), one had 8 weeks (37), 2 had 12 weeks (42, 43) and 1 had 16 weeks (39). Only one trial included a follow-up assessment, which was performed 12 weeks after after the end of the intervention period (44).…”

“…Only one trial included a follow-up assessment, which was performed 12 weeks after after the end of the intervention period (44). Four of the studies had matched the dosage of intervention and swopped part of the usual therapy with MCVG training (37,38,40,41), and 3 trials had MCVG training in addition to the usual therapy (39,42,44).…”

“…In 3 trials the participants performed the intervention twice a week (37,38,41), in 3 trials 3 times a week (39,42,44) and in 2 trials 7 times a week (40,43). The duration of the intervention ranged from 15 to 45 min and the total amount of therapy provided varied from 6 to 108 h.…”

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the ABILHAND-Kids for the Brazilian Portuguese

“…It is a useful tool for assessing the relationship between manual ability and dystonia and choreoathetosis 11 , for identifying factors that might influence children's manual function in long term 12 , and for identifying children's upper limb impairments 13 . Moreover, ABILHAND-Kids questionnaire has been used as an outcome measure in several interventional studies [14][15][16][17][18] and in other clinical conditions such as radial deficiency 19 , obstetric brachial plexus injury 20 and paediatric ischaemic stroke 21 . ABILHAND-Kids has been translated to other languages, such as Turkish, English and Dutch 9,22 .…”