fazollah bagherzadeh

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of training interventions using the Virtual Reality (VR) approach on the proprioceptive function of elbow joints in children with hemiplegia.

Twenty boys with cerebral palsy, aged 7 to 12 years, were selected based on available sampling by referring to special schools in Tehran and were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. Kinect Xbox 360 device (Microsoft, New York, USA) was used as a therapeutic tool for VR interventions. A gyroscope device was used to measure the elbow’s joint position sense. The experimental group participated in the VR program, but the control group continued their traditional therapy program. Paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test were used at the P<0.05 level of significance using SPSS version 18 software.

In pre-test phase, no significant difference was found in the joint position sense (t=0.07, df=18, p=0.944). In post-test phase, VR training led to better scores for the experimental group (t=2.3, df = 18, p=0.03). Based on the results of the paired sample t-test, VR training resulted in significant improvement in the joint position sense of experimental group (t=4.061, df = 9, p=0.003).

VR can be used as a suitable therapy method to improve the proprioceptive sense in hemiplegic cerebral palsy children. This type of therapy resulted in a significant improvement in the joint position sense of hemiplegic cerebral palsy children, as it lets them explore new experiences that would be difficult or dangerous for them under normal situation.

Skillful performance in soccer requires not only sound techniques but also quick and accurate decision making. These decisions are usually made in various intensities of practice and performance. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of arousal and training intensity on decision making (speed and accuracy) of expert female soccer players. For this purpose، 16 expert female soccer players (mean age 22. 4±3. 8 yr) with 8 or more years of competitive experience were voluntarily selected from Tehran women''s premier league. Soccer related photographs on a computer monitor were used to evaluate the decision making task; participants had to decide which action they would undertake (shoot، pass، dribble). Three different levels of arousal (low: with no spectators، medium: with silent spectators and high: with cheering spectators) in three different levels of intensity (resting، 40% of HRmax، 80% of HRmax) were designed. To measure the accuracy and speed of decision making، parametric method of MANOVA، 3 (training intensity levels) in 3 (arousal levels)، was used. To totally compare the groups، one-way analysis of variance، ANOVA with repeated measures and Tukey post hoc test were used at α=95%. The results showed no significant difference in the speed of decision making among different arousal levels (P>0. 05) while a significant difference was observed in the accuracy of decision making among different arousal levels (P˂0. 05). The speed of decision making improved in the low and medium arousal levels through an increase in training intensity while no significant difference was observed in the speed of decision making in high arousal level among different intensity levels (P>0. 05). Furthermore، the accuracy of decision making showed no significant difference in low and high arousal levels among different intensity levels (P>0. 05). The accuracy of decision making improved in low arousal level through an increase in training intensity. These finding showed that training intensity and arousal separately influenced each decision making component.