Article

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is the main cause of death and disability
among young adults. In most cases, survivors can experience balance instability,
resulting in functional impairments that are associated with diminished
health-related quality of life. Traditional rehabilitation therapy may be
tedious. This can reduce motivation and adherence to the treatment and thus
provide a limited benefit to patients with balance disorders. We present eBaViR
(easy Balance Virtual Rehabilitation), a system based on the Nintendo(R) Wii
Balance Board(R) (WBB), which has been designed by clinical therapists to improve
standing balance in patients with ABI through motivational and adaptative
exercises. We hypothesize that eBaViR, is feasible, safe and potentially
effective in enhancing standing balance. METHODS: In this contribution, we
present a randomized and controlled single blinded study
to assess the influence
of a WBB-based virtual rehabilitation system on balance rehabilitation with ABI
hemiparetic patients. This study describes the eBaViR system and evaluates its
effectiveness considering 20 one-hour-sessions of virtual reality rehabilitation
(n = 9) versus standard rehabilitation (n = 8). Effectiveness was evaluated by
means of traditional static and dynamic balance scales. RESULTS: The final sample
consisted of 11 men and 6 women. Mean +/- SD age was 47.3 +/- 17.8 and mean +/-
SD chronicity was 570.9 +/- 313.2 days. Patients using eBaViR had a significant
improvement in static balance (p = 0.011 in Berg Balance Scale and p = 0.011 in
Anterior Reaches Test) compared to patients who underwent traditional therapy.
Regarding dynamic balance,
the results showed significant improvement over time
in all these measures, but no significant group effect or group-by-time
interaction was detected for any of them, which suggests that both groups
improved in the same way. There were no serious adverse events during treatment
in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that eBaViR represents a safe
and effective alternative to traditional treatment to improve static balance in
the ABI population. These results have encouraged us to reinforce the virtual
treatment with new exercises, so an evolution of the system is currently being developed.

Langue : ANGLAIS