Gametherapy Effects on Patient Rehabilitation at a Burns Intensive Care Unit: A Pilot Study

Objectives: Assess the effect of game therapy on functional rehabilitation of burned patients within a Burns Intensive Care Unit. Design: controlled and randomized pilot study. Twenty-nine patients with upper limbs and thoracic burns. Ten sessions were performed in both groups, lasting 30 min. Test group (Gwii n = 15) was rehabilitated through of tennis, golf and boxing, while control group (GPt n = 14) were assigned activities that addressed the same goals of game therapy. Main outcome measure: palmar grip strength test, maximal respiratory pressures, six-minute walking test, functional independence level, anxiety and pain determined by Burns Specific Pain Anxiety Scale. Randomization: Patients were distributed into two intervention groups: Group Nintendo Wii Sport (n = 10) and Group Conventional Physical Therapy (n = 10), through a random and independent draw. Statistical analysis: The comparative analyses between intra- and inter-group physiotherapy protocols were paired tests of Student or Wilcoxon. Results: A significant increase in MEP (p = 0.0226), right upper limb dynamometry (p = 0.0203), left upper limb dynamometry (p = 0.0367), FIL (p = 0.0003) and 6MWT (p = 0.0019), as well as a significant reduction of anxiety and pain level (p = 0.0323), yet in GPt group all variables studied had a significant improvement. However, in the evaluations between the groups (inter-group), there was no significant difference in any variable studied. Conclusion: Game Therapy may be a resource with therapeutic potential in the functional recovery of the burned patients, since, in this study, it obtained results similar to conventional physiotherapy