Biffi et al.

(2015)

Italy

Cohort

N=14

Population: ABI: TBI=3, Tumor=1; ABI Patients (n=4): Gender: Male=1, Female=3; Mean Age=13.7yr; Mean Time Post Injury=8.5 mo. Control Group (n=10): Gender: Male=1, Female=9; Mean Age=26.0yr.

Intervention: Patients performed a series of walking and balance exercises while engaging with a virtual reality (VR) environment. Kinematic and gait performance were compared with a reference control group of healthy adults who had participated in a prior study. The intervention consisted of 5 sessions, each 30 min over a 3 wk period. Assessments were conducted at baseline and post-treatment.

Outcome Measure: Ankle, Hip, Knee and Pelvic Kinematic Parameters on Instrumented Gait Analysis.

1.        Left-side ankle plantar-flexion and peak dorsi-flexion improved significantly (both p<0.050) among ABI patients from baseline to post-treatment.

2.        Left and right-side hip extension both improved significantly (p<0.050) from baseline to post-treatment among ABI patients.

3.        Left and right-side mean pelvic tilt, pelvic tilt at initial contact and range of pelvic obliquity all improved significantly (all p<0.050) from baseline to post-treatment among ABI patients.

4.        Left and right-side mean pelvic tilt, pelvic tilt at initial contact, right-side hip extension, and left-side ankle plantar-flexion and ankle dorsi-flexion all significantly differed compared to the control group at baseline but were no longer significantly different at post-treatment.

De Kloet et al.

(2012)

The Netherlands

Pre-Post

N_I=50, N_F=45

Population: ABI: TBI=27, Non-TBI=23; Gender: Male=26, Female=19.

Intervention: Patients took part in two 1 hr training sessions 6wk apart with a Nintendo Wii and an assortment of games. Assessments were conducted at baseline and at 12wk follow-up.

Outcome Measure: Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE), Amsterdamse Neuropsychologische Taken (ANT), Goal Attainment Scaling.

1.        Patients reported a significant improvement in amount of physical activity (p=0.010) on the CAPE at follow-up.

2.        CAPE scores revealed a significant increase in diversity of recreational activities (p=0.020), and intensity of physical activity (p=0.040) at follow-up.

3.        ANT scores revealed significant improvements in dominant-hand reaction time (p=0.010), feature identification (p=0.010), tracking speed (p=0.047), and discrepancy time (p=0.005).

4.        66% of patients reported an improvement in goals attained with 15 out of 19 reporting success for motor functioning goals but less than half reported success for information-processing goals.