The Effects of Exergaming Training on Balance in Healthy Elderly Women-A Pilot Study

The Application of Virtual Reality in Shoulder Surgery Rehabilitation

To achieve a positive functional prognosis in orthopedic surgery, particularly in shoulder surgeries, effective rehabilitation is essential. Recently, there has been growing interest in the use of virtual reality (VR) in the field of orthopedics, particularly for preoperative education and training, as well as clinical and home-based rehabilitation. This report describes the process of developing an application utilizing Meta Quest 2 VR technology (Meta, CA, USA) for rehabilitation after shoulder surgery. This application assists patients in performing postoperative exercises at home by wearing VR equipment tailored to their postoperative weeks. The advantages of VR rehabilitation lie in overcoming the limitations of traditional rehabilitation methods and providing patients with a better rehabilitation experience. Moreover, automating the rehabilitation process and reducing patients' visits to clinics can lead to cost savings. This report raises expectations for the potential and scalability of VR utilization, extending beyond orthopedics to other fields. In addition, it anticipates that with better feedback and motivation, the rehabilitation effects for patients can be further enhanced.

The effects of virtual reality training on postural sway and physical function performance on older women with chronic low back pain: A double-blind randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is known as an important debilitating health condition among older women.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of eight-week virtual reality training (VRT) exercises on postural sway and physical function performance (PFP) among older women suffering from CLBP.

METHODS

Twenty-seven older women presenting with CLBP were randomized into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was instructed to perform 30-minute VRT exercises three times a week for eight weeks. Plantar pressure variables [sway velocity (SV) and anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) fluctuations of the center of pressure (CoP)], 30-second chair stand test (30CST), and timed up and go (TUG) test were recorded.

RESULTS

The VRT group exhibited significant decreases in SV (p= 0.002), AP (p= 0.008), and ML (p= 0.02) fluctuations. Also, the performance of the VRT group in the 30CST and TUG tests significantly improved after the exercises (P< 0.001).

CONCLUSION

According to the results, VRT and the program used in this study should be used to enhance balance and PFP in older women with CLBP who mostly prefer activities that are accessible and feasible in low-risk environments.

Comparing the effects of 30 minutes exergaming versus brisk walking on physiological and psychological measurements of older adults

BACKGROUND

Active video games can make physical activity more appealing and enjoyable for older people. This study compared the effects of 30 min of Exergaming versus walking on the physiological and psychological measures of asymptomatic older adults.

METHODS

Forty eligible participants (mean age = 69.60 ± 4.16 y/o) were randomly divided into two groups of 20 in a crossover design, who either performed Brisk Walking or Exergaming, one week apart. Before each session, each participant's blood pressure was measured, and the subjects were encouraged to play/walk continuously for 30 min using a self-selected intensity. During both sessions, average and peak heart rate, time spent in each of the heart rate zones, blood pressure, and double product were assessed through a Polar H10 heart rate monitor. Participants also filled out the modified Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) questionnaire and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale.

RESULTS

Findings indicated a significantly higher average (P = 0.003) and peak heart rate (P < 0.001) and double product (P = 0.002) during Exergaming compared to Brisk Walking. Also, the RPE score was significantly lower and PACES score was significantly higher (P < 0.001) during the Exergaming session. The analyses of blood pressure showed significant changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressures following each session, while no statistically significant difference was reported between the two exercise modalities (P = 0.012 and P < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that Exergaming can be a good alternative to traditional exercises like walking for older adults, providing physiological benefits while being less exhausting and more enjoyable.

Impact of Virtual Reality Cognitive and Motor Exercises on Brain Health

Innovative technologies of the 21st century have an extremely significant impact on all activities of modern humans. Among them, virtual reality (VR) offers great opportunities for scientific research and public health. The results of research to date both demonstrate the beneficial effects of using virtual worlds, and indicate undesirable effects on bodily functions. This review presents interesting recent findings related to training/exercise in virtual environments and its impact on cognitive and motor functions. It also highlights the importance of VR as an effective tool for assessing and diagnosing these functions both in research and modern medical practice. The findings point to the enormous future potential of these rapidly developing innovative technologies. Of particular importance are applications of virtual reality in basic and clinical neuroscience.

Effectiveness of Early Rehabilitation with Exergaming in Virtual Reality on Gait in Patients after Total Knee Replacement

Total knee replacement (TKR) is the treatment of choice for advanced stages of osteoarthritis but it requires good postoperative rehabilitation. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of exercises using virtual reality to improve gait parameters in patients after TKR. Fifty-nine patients 7−14 days after TKR surgery were divided into a study group (VRG, n = 38) and a control group (CG, n = 21). Both groups underwent the same 4-week rehabilitation protocol. The VRG group had 12 additional nonimmersive virtual reality game sessions on the Virtual Balance Clinic prototype system at 30 min each, focusing on gait and balance improvement. Spatiotemporal, force and foot plantar pressure parameters were collected on an instrumented treadmill during a 30 s walk. The most significant improvement was in the symmetry indices of forefoot force, maximum forefoot force, loading response time, and preswing time (p < 0.05) in both groups. Gait speed increased by 31.25% and 44% in the VRG and CG groups, respectively (p < 0.005). However, the extra exergaming sessions did not significantly improve rehabilitation outcomes. Therefore, additional VR training does not improve gait better than standard rehabilitation alone, but the improvement of gait, especially its symmetry, is significant within the first six weeks after surgery.

An Assessment of Balance through Posturography in Healthy about Women: An Observational Study

The incidence of falls in adults constitutes a public health problem, and the alteration in balance is the most important factor. It is necessary to evaluate this through objective tools in order to quantify alterations and prevent falls. This study aims to determine the existence of alteration of balance and the influence of age in a population of healthy women. Static posturography was performed on 49 healthy adult women with no history of falls in four different situations using the Romberg test with the NedSVE/IBV^® platform. The variables studied were the body sway area and the anteroposterior and mediolateral displacements. The situation of maximum instability occurred in RGC (p = 0.001), with a significant increase in anteroposterior oscillations regarding the ML (p < 0.001), with no correlation to age. Age alone does not influence the balance in the sample studied, other factors must come together to alter it. The joint cancellation of visual and somatosensory afferents could facilitate the appearance of falls, given that it is a situation of maximum instability. Proprioceptive training is interesting as a preventive strategy for falls.

Effects of Different Finger Grips and Arm Positions on the Performance of Manipulating the Chinese Brush in Chinese Adolescents

This study aimed to investigate the effects of finger grip and wrist position on Chinese calligraphy handwriting (CCH). Thirty participants were recruited in the study and asked to manipulate the Chinese brush using two finger grip methods (three-finger grip and five-finger grip) and two wrist positions (suspended wrist and raised wrist). Three experimental writing tasks were applied to investigate writing stability, agility, and hand–eye coordination, and to evaluate the completion time (s), area of error (cm²), and error times. Subjective responses (arm aching level, ease of grip, exertion level, and comfort) regarding the four combinations of Chinese brush manipulation were measured. The results indicated significantly better performance with the three-finger grip for the stability and agility tests, and with the five-finger grip for the hand–eye coordination task. Using the suspended wrist position for CCH allowed better agility and hand–eye coordination than the raised wrist position. In consideration of the results of the four operational combinations, the three-finger grip with a suspended wrist position demonstrated the best performance in both objective and subjective measurements. It is recommended for application in the early learning stage. These findings can be considered when teaching Chinese brushes for beginners of CCH in schools.