Table 1.
List of basic characteristics of the included studies.
| Researchers | Subjects | Country: Language | GMFCS Level (Number) | Characteristics of Subjects (Number; Genders; Ages) | Intervention Methods; Frequency of the Intervention Group; Total Time of the Intervention Group | Intervention Location | VR Platforms | Types of VR Game | Outcome Indicators | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental Group | Control Group | |||||||||
| Han et al. [39] (2010) | Children with paralytic hemiplegia | South Korea: Korean | L(1):9 L(2):1 |
L(1):8 L(2):2 |
20; the experimental group: 10: 5 males (9.50 ± 2.46); the control group: 10: 5 males (8.90 ± 2.37) | Strength training treatment + VRGs treatment; 15 min/time, 3 days/week, 12 weeks in total; 540 min | Hospital | Nintendo wii fit balance board | Warrior posture; wire-waling; rafting in the valley | ② |
| Sharan et al. [32] (2012) | Children with postoperative cerebral palsy | India: English | Not Clear | Not Clear | 16; the experimental group: 8 (8.88 ± 3.23); the control group: 8 (10.38 ± 4.41) (NSL) | Depending on game types, 3 days/time, 3 weeks in total | Not clear | Nintendo wii-fit | Depending on children’s abilities | ② |
| Alsaif and Alsenany [33] (2015) | Children with spastic diplegia | Saudi Arabia: English | L(3):20 | L(3):20 | 40; the experimental group: 20; the control group: 20; 6-to-10-year-olds (NSL) | VRGs; 20 min/day, 7 times/week, 12 weeks in total; 1680 min | Home | Nintendo wii fit balance board | Not specified | ① |
| Atasavun et al. [31] (2016) | Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy | Turkey: English | L(1):9 L(2):3 |
L(1):10 L(2):2 |
24; the experimental group: 12: 8 males; the control group: 12: 2 males; 6-to-14-year-olds | Regular rehabilitation treatment + VRGs treatment; 30 min/time, 2 days/week, 12 weeks in total;720 min | Hospital | Nintendo wii-fit | Wii basketball game; Wii football game; Wii boxing game | ② |
| Trakci et al. [14] (2016) | Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy | Turkey: English | L(1~2):15 | L(1~3):15 | 30; the experimental group: 15: 10 males (10.46 ± 2.69); the control group: 15: 9 males (10.53 ± 2.79) | Neurodevelopmental therapy + VRGs treatment; 20 min/time, twice per week, 12 weeks in total; 480 min | Rehabilitation Centre | Nintendo wii-fit | Slalom; wire-walking; football game | ③⑤ |
| Ren et al. [37] (2016) | Children with spastic diplegia | China: Chinese | L(1):8 L(2):11 |
L(1):7 L(2):9 |
35; the experimental group: 19: 11 males and 8 females (53.88 ± 13.58); the control group: 16: 9 (56.53 ± 9.67) | Regular rehabilitation treatment + VRGs treatment; 40 min/time,5 times/week, 12 weeks in total; 2400 min | Hospital | Q4 situational interactive rehabilitation training system produced by OPEM | Not specified | ④ |
| Rgen et al. [34] (2016) | Children with spastic hemiplegia | Turkey: English | Not Clear | Not Clear | 30; the experimental group: 15: 7 males (11.07 ± 2.37); the control group: 15: 7 males (11.33 ± 2.19) | Regular rehabilitation treatment + VRGs treatment; 40 min/time, twice per week, 9 weeks in total; 720 min | Not Clear | Nintendo wii-fit | Ski jumping; snowball fight; jogging; the oblique city; penguin slides; perfect 10; guiseway; header | ⑤⑥ |
| Sajan et al. [35] (2017) | Children with double lower limb paralytic and quadriplegic cerebral palsy | India: English | L(1):1 L(2):2 L(3):6 L(4):1 |
L(2):1 L(3):7 L(4):2 |
20; the experimental group: 10: 5 males (12.4 ± 4.93); the control group: 10: 6 males (10.6 ± 3.78) | Regular rehabilitation + VRGs treatment; 30 min/time,6 times/week, 3 weeks in total; 540 min | Clinical | Nintendo Wii-fit remote control game | Boxing; tennis | ② |
| Zhao et al. [36] (2018) | Children with hemiplegic, diplegic and quadriplegic cerebral palsy | China: Chinese | L(1):18 L(2):6 |
L(1):17 L(2):7 |
48; the experimental group: 24: 11 males (59.38 ± 11.29); the control group: 24: 16 males (54.33 ± 10.93) | Regular rehabilitation treatment + VRGs treatment; 40 min/time, 5 times/week,3 weeks in total; 600 min | Hospital | Active video games on the Xbox Kinect platform | Dance Imitation | ② |
| Hsieh et al. [40] (2018) | Children with diplegic and quadriplegic cerebral palsy | Taiwan, China: English | L(2):10 L(3):6 L(4):4 |
L(2):10 L(3):5 L(4):5 |
40; the experimental group: 20: 14 males (7.33 ± 1.31); the control group: 15: 12 males (7.41 ± 1.54) | Regular rehabilitation treatment + VRGs treatment; 40 min/time, 5 times/week,12 weeks in total; 2400 min | Not Clear | computer + joystick (the software Scratch) | Flower watering, monkey eating bananas, killing mosquitoes with a swatter | ③⑤ |
| Yang et al. [38] (2019) | Children with spastic diplegia | China: Chinese | L(3):20 | L(3):20 | 45; the experimental group: 23: 9 males (55.53 ± 14.73)l the control group: 22: 12 males (54.85 ± 13.40) | Regular rehabilitation treatment + VRGs treatment; 20 minutes/time, 5 times/week, 12 weeks in total; 1200 min | Hospital | The Biomaster VR training system produced in Guangzhou | Picture matching, skiing, football | ③ |
Note: NSL: The male to female ratio is not mentioned; L:Gross Motor Function Classification System Level of Cerebral Palsy; GMFCS: Gross Motor Function Classification System; VRGs: Virtual reality games; ①: Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC, the balance test); ②: Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS); ③: Berg Balance Scale (BBS); ④: Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Board Score; ⑤: Timed Up and Go (TUG); ⑥: Pediatric balance measurement (PBM).