1. Introduction
quadriplegic, hypoxia-ischemia, movements, postural abnormalities, diplegic, cerebral palsy, hemiplegic, spastic CP, coronavirus disease
PHYSICAL STRESS, CEREBRAL PALSY
Metaverse physical therapy (MPT), an adjuvant technology for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy (CP), has gained notoriety in the clinical field owing to its accessibility and because it provides motivation for rehabilitation. The aim is to compare the gross motor function and cardiopulmonary function, the activities of daily living, quality of life (QOL), and the perceived risk of coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 transmission between MPT and conventional physical therapy (CPT). A convenience sample of 26 children with CP (mean age, 11.23 ± 3.24 years, 14 females) were randomized into either the MPT or CPT group and received therapy three days/week for four weeks. Clinical outcomes included gross-motor-function measure 66 (GMFM-66), heart rate (HR), Borg-rating perceived exertion (BRPE), functional independence measure (FIM), pediatric QOL, and the risk of COVID-19 transmission. An analysis of variance showed that compared with CPT, MPT exerted positive effects on GMFM, HR, and BRPE. An independent Damage to the developing brain causes cerebral palsy (CP), an umbrella term for a diverse set of persistent but changeable movements and postural abnormalities [In particular, spastic CP, which has hemiplegic, diplegic, and quadriplegic forms, is commonly linked to injury to the cortical motor region and white matter caused by hypoxia-ischemia [Currently, neurorehabilitation for CP involves direct, man-to-man, and hands-on therapy, with numerous studies reporting variable outcomes. Additionally, conventional physical therapy is associated with a variety of issues related to physical therapists and motivation [To mitigate the inherent limitations of current neurorehabilitation options for CP, we developed an innovative metaverse neurorehabilitation related to healthcare professionals. Metaverse rehabilitation can be rehabilitated anytime and anywhere, cost-free. However, conventional physical therapy varies greatly depending on labor intensiveness, physical stress, loss of motivation, cost, and differences in experience among physical therapists [Despite these potential physiotherapeutic advantages, conventional-physical-therapy-combined metaverse physical therapy (MPT) has not been investigated in CP rehabilitation. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare gross motor function and cardiopulmonary function, ADL, quality of life (QOL), and the perceived risk of COVID-19 transmission between MPT and conventional physical therapy (CPT). We hypothesized that MPT was as effective as CPT in gross-motor-function measure (GMFM), heart rate (HR), Borg-rating perceived exertion (BRPE), functional independence measure (FIM), pediatric QOL, and the risk of COVID-19 transmission.