Effect of balance training using wii fit on patients with chronic plantar foot ulcer / Shimaa Galal Elsayed ; Supervised Mohamed Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Khalaf , Ahmed Gamil Elsharkawy , Heba Mohamed Mohamdy

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Physical Therapy for Surgery

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of the Wii Fit balance board (WBB) on the balance of the patients with chronic plantar foot ulcer. Subjects: Thirty patients were participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 40 to 60 years. They were randomly divided into two equal groups. Procedures: Study group received Wii Fit balance board program plus balance rehabilitation program. Control group received balance rehabilitation program only. Effectiveness was evaluated by Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Time Up and Go (TUG) and Push and Release Test (PRT). Results: Patients using WBB had a significant improvement in BBS (p < 0.05).The results showed a significant improvement in PRT (p < 0.05) but there was no significant improvement in TUG (p > 0.05). The current study proved that there was a significant improvement in males when compared to females in the Wii Fit group (p < 0.05). This study indicated a significant inverse correlation between the time of ulceration and the post treatment BBS (p < 0.05) in both groups but there was a significant direct correlation between the time of ulceration and the post treatment TUG and PRT (p < 0.05) in both groups. Conclusion: The results proved that WBB represents a safe and effective alternative to traditional treatment to improve static and reactive balance in the chronic plantar foot ulcer. These results may encourage physiotherapist to reinforce the virtual treatment with new exercises, so an evolution of the system is currently being developed

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