Effects of playing Wii games for dynamic sitting balance training in paraplegic patients: a pilot study

Abstract

The objective of this pilot study was to compare the effectiveness in maintaining dynamic sitting Position between Wii games and a conventional sitting balance training in paraplegic patients. Eight patients with paraplegia(spinal cord injured T9-T12), ASIA impairment scale A or B, who can sit without hand support for at least 10 seconds and had poor sitting balance participated. They were randomized to either a control group (conventional program) or a study group (Wii games) for sitting balance training. Both trainings took 20 minutes per session, twice a day for 10 days. The modified maximal anterior balance range test (MMABRT) was administered to all participants pre- and post-training. The distances of MMABRT were compared between pre- and post-training for both within and between groups using non-parametric statistics. Results showed that there were no statistical significant differences of the MMABRT between pre- and post-training for both groups. In addition, there were no significant differences of the MMABRT between the two groups both at baseline and post-training. Findings from this pilot study suggests that 10-day balance training using either conventional method or Wii games did not improve the ability to move body in the anterior direction while sitting in patients with paraplegia who suffered from T9-T12 injuries and had ASIA impairment A or B. Due to small sample size and large variability of the data, further studies need to be conducted to confirm the study findings.