Effect of virtual reality training on standing balance in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury

Recovery of balance ability during standing is one of the primary and essential aims of rehabilitative programs in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). A sample of ten participants (mean age: 35.7 years, range: 25-63 years) with traumatic or non-traumatic iSCI (AIS grade C or D) and were able to stand with or without the support of an assistive device for a minimum of 2 min were recruited from the rehabilitation department of the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, India. The participants received Virtual Reality (VR) based balance training for one hour, three times a week for four weeks on the Nintendo Wii gaming console. Participants were assessed three times: preintervention, post-intervention and follow-up assessment for the total ellipse area (TEA), total sway perimeter (TSP), sway range (anterior-posterior/medio-lateral (AP/ML)) and limits of stability (LOS). At post-intervention assessment, significant increases in comparison with pre-intervention scores was found in LOS (P=0.00), TEA with eyes open (EO) (P=0.00) and eyes closed (EC) (P=0.00), TSP with EO (P=0.00) and EC (P=0.00), sway range in AP direction (SD-AP) with EO (P=0.01) and EC (P=0.02) and sway range in ML direction (SD-ML) with EO (P=0.02) and EC (P=0.01). At follow-up assessment, a significant improvement in comparison to post intervention scores was found in TEA measured both in EO (P=0.01) and EC conditions (P=0.02), TSP measured with EO (P=0.01) and SD-ML both with EO (P=0.04) and EC (P=0.01). No significant changes were found in LOS (P=0.89), TSP measured with EC (P=0.38) and SD-AP both with EO (P=0.50) and EC (P=1). However, significant improvement was seen on comparing follow-up assessment scores with pre-intervention scores for all variables, such as LOS (P=0.00), TEA in EO (P=0.00) and EC (P=0.00), TSP with EO (P=0.00) and EC (P=0.00), SD-AP with EO (P=0.01) and EC (P=0.02) and SD-ML with EO (P=0.01) and EC (P=0.00). VR-based balance training intervention was able to elicit improvements in balance ability and maintain it during follow-up despite a small training dosage suggesting that it is a promising intervention for standing balance rehabilitation among individuals with iSCI. The VR-based balance training challenges elements of balance, which physical therapists may want to consider when designing a comprehensive rehabilitation program.