Feasibility of virtual reality-based balance rehabilitation in adults with spinocerebellar ataxia: a prospective observational study

Abstract

Objective: To test the effects of a virtual reality (VR) balance rehabilitation program in patients diagnosed with SCAs.

Materials and methods: A prospective observational study was carried out with a cohort of 28 patients diagnosed with SCAs, including eight females and 20 males, 15–70 years of age (mean, 41.5 ± 16.9 years). Patients were submitted to otorhinolaryngological assessment to exclude any kind of middle ear impairments that may hinder exam results, and vestibular evaluation to verify the existence of vestibular disorders, kind and site of the lesion. The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and 36-item Short-form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaires were applied before and after VR rehabilitation. The criterion for significance in before versus after VR training comparisons was p < .05.

Results: Regarding to baseline, the participants showed significant improvements posttraining in their DHI and BBS scores. These improvements were accompanied by improvements in perceived quality of life (QoL) as measured by the SF-36. There were significant improvements in balance and gait, fall frequency, and patients’ self-confidence.

Conclusions: Showed consistent improvement postrehabilitation in their ability to play VR games (i.e. Soccer Heading, Tightrope, Table Tilt, and Ski Slalom). VR rehabilitation may be an effective SCA therapy. The breadth of improvements evidenced here should promote physical and psychological recovery, while fostering a better QoL.

Keywords:

• Spinocerebellar ataxia
• balance
• quality of life
• rehabilitation
• virtual reality
• balance exercises

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (registration number CEP n°. 832.502/2014) at Brazil Plataform. All examinations were performed after formal consent forms were obtained from all the participants.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The work has been funded by Araucária Fundation (BR) – Registration number: 303698/2012-8.