Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of virtual reality on therapeutic pain in children with spastic cerebral palsy, through the profiles of the pain stress and outcome of rehabilitation treatment. Methods From September, 2018 to June, 2019, 49 children with spastic cerebral palsy were randomly divided into control group (n = 25) and observation group (n = 24). Both groups received conventional rehabilitative treatment. The observation group wore virtual reality head display, choosing appropriate panoramic cartoon play or head control game according to their intelligence level to immerse themselves in the virtual environment. Both groups were treated five days per week for three weeks, for a total of 15 treatment days. Saliva cortisol was measured same time on the first, fifth, ninth, and 13th treatment days. They were assessed with modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), the Chinese version of Gross Motor Function Test Scale (GMFM) and Pediatric Disability Assessment Scale (PEDI) before and three weeks after treatment. Results The cortisol levels significantly increased on all the treatment days in both groups (|t| > 3.502, P < 0.05). On the fifth, ninth, and 13th treatment days, the cortisol level was lower in the observation group than in the control group (t > 2.224, P < 0.05). After treatment, the MAS score decreased (|Z| > 2.636, P < 0.01), and the scores of PBS and PEDI increased (|Z| > 3.629, P < 0.001) in both groups; the scores of PBS and PEDI were higher in the observation group than in the control group (|Z| > 2.000, P < 0.05) Conclusion Virtual reality is helpful to alleviate the pain stress in children with spastic cerebral palsy, and it is helpful to improve the effect of rehabilitation treatment.

Key words: cerebral palsy, virtual reality, therapeutic pain, motor function, social function