Effects of Training in a Virtual Environment in Chronic Stroke Patients

Stroke Clinical Trial

Official title: Effects of Training in a Virtual Environment on the Motor Function,Postural Control and Quality of Life in Chronic Stroke Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

The objective of this work will be compare the effects of two balance training programs, one Nintendo Wii Fit-based and the other traditionally-based without the use of a gaming system, on the (1) motor function, (2) cognition, (3) balance and (4) gait in chronic stroke patients. It is a prospective, single blinded, randomized clinical trial performed at Center of Research of the courses of Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy of São Paulo University. Forty patients will be randomly assigned in control and experimental group, 20 each one.

Clinical Trial Description

The objective of this work is to compare the effects of two balance training programs, one Nintendo Wii Fit-based and the other traditionally-based without the use of a gaming system, motor function, balance and quality of life in chronic stroke patients. It is a prospective, single-blinded, randomized clinical trial performed at Center of Research of the courses of Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy of São Paulo University. Forty chronic stroke patients are randomly in control and experimental group, 20 each one. Both groups conduct 14 training sessions, twice a week, for seven weeks. Each session will consist a 30 minute-global-exercise series including stretching, muscle strength and axial mobility exercises. After this, both groups will performed more 30 minutes of balance training: the control group will performed balance exercises without external cues, visual or auditory feedbacks or cognitive stimulations; the experimental group will performed the balance training with 8 Wii Fit games which stimulate motor and cognitive functions. The main outcome measures will be: (1) the lower limb subscale of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA-LE); (2); Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest);(3) the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (SS-QOL); (4) 6- minute walk test (6MWT) and (5) The limits of stability (LOS). ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Stroke

• NCT number: NCT01886183
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of Sao Paulo General Hospital
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 2014
• Completion date: February 2018