The Effects of Exergame on Postural Control in Individuals with Ataxia: a Rater-Blinded, Randomized Controlled, Cross-over Study

Exergame trainings might have therapeutic value in ataxic patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exergame training with an exercise program on postural control by comparing it with traditional balance and coordination exercise program. Nineteen patients were randomly allocated to two groups. In the first group, exergame training and an exercise program (EEP) were applied together for the first 8 weeks; after 10 weeks washout, a conventional exercise program (CEP) was applied for the second 8 weeks. In the second group, the CEP was applied first followed by the EEP. Outcome measures were Limits of Stability test (LoS), International Classification Ataxia Ratio Scale (ICARS), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Timed-Up and Go test with a cognitive task (TUG-C), Reactive postural control and sensory orientation subscales of the Mini-BESTest. Seventeen patients (mean age ± SD, 32.53 ± 11.07 years) completed the study. ICARS, BBS scores improved only after EEP ( p < 0.05). While there was no change in the RT and MVL parameters of the LoS test after EEP, the MXE, EPE, and DCL parameters improved significantly ( p < 0.05). The MXE and MVL parameters of LoS improved after CEP ( p < 0.05). There were no significant improvements in the Mini-BESTest’s reactive postural control and sensory orientation subscale scores after both EEP and CEP ( p > 0.05). The results of the present study demonstrated that exergame training can be used as a complementary training option in physiotherapy to improve postural control in patients with ataxia. ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier: NCT03607058