JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The increasing number of children with cerebral palsy(CP) has a serious impact on individuals, families and society. As a new technology, virtual reality has been used in the rehabilitation of children with CP.

Objective:

To systematically evaluate the effect of virtual reality training on balance, gross motor function and daily living ability in children with CP.

Methods:

Pubmed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science and CNKI databases were searched by computer, whose search period started from the establishment of each database to December 25, 2021, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects of virtual reality training on balance, gross motor function and daily life in children with CP. Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool was used to conduct quality assessment on the included literature, and the Revman5.3 was used to analyze data.

Results:

A total of 16 articles were included, involving 513 children with CP. Virtual reality training can improve the balance function of children with CP (PBS: MD=2.06, 95%CI (1.15, 2.97), P＜.001; BBS: MD=3.66, 95%CI (0.29, 7.02), P=.03) and gross motor function(SMD=0.60, 95%CI (0.34, 0.87), P＜.001). But there is still certain disagreement on the impact on daily living ability (SMD=0.37, 95%CI (-0.04, 0.78), P=.08), after removing the source literature with heterogeneity, virtual reality training can improve the daily living ability of children with cerebral palsy (SMD=0.55, 95%CI (0.30, 0.81), P <.001).

Conclusions:

VR training can significantly improve the balance function and gross motor function of children with CP, but the effect on the daily living ability of children with CP remains controversial.