Playing the Goblin Post Office game improves movement control of the core: A case study

• Main Authors: Barton, Gabor J, Hawken, Malcolm B, Foster, Richard J, Holmes, Gill, Butler, Penny B
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: cerebral palsy; core control; Games; Joints; Leg; Motion segmentation; movement training; Muscles; Pelvis; Training; virtual rehabilitation
• ISSN: 2331-9542
• DOI: 10.1109/ICVR.2011.5971811

Movement function of the core (trunk and pelvis) can be improved in cerebral palsy, potentially leading to benefits which transfer to activities of daily living. A single child with CP diplegia played our custom made game which runs on the CAREN system. Three playing postures gradually introduced more and more joints in the legs to be controlled. Vicon cameras tracked trunk and pelvic rotations which drove a dragon towards envelope targets. Forward speed of the game was adjusted by an adaptive algorithm leading to a maximum settled speed for the various conditions. Results showed that core control improved after the six week training period. The trunk was better controlled than the pelvis, sideways rotations were better controlled than fore-aft rotations of body segments, and single plane rotations were more efficient than cross-plane rotations of the core. The quantifiable improvements suggest a good potential for our technique to improve core control which is a prerequisite for good movement control of the legs and arms.