Aerobic stimulus induced by virtual reality games in stroke survivors

Publication date: Available online 8 February 2018
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Julio Cesar Silva de Sousa, Camila Torriani-Pasin, Amanda Barboza Tosi, Rafael Yokoyama Fecchio, Luiz Augusto Riani da Costa, Cláudia Lúcia de Moraes Forjaz
ObjectiveTo evaluate whether virtual reality games (VRG) in stroke survivors produce significant and reproducible heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (VO2) responses during their execution, corresponding to an intensity between the anaerobic threshold (AT) and the respiratory compensation point (RCP).DesignSingle subjects repeated measure designSettingStroke survivors registered from a rehabilitation programParticipantsTwelve chronic hemiparetic stroke survivors (10 men, 58 ± 12 years) rated at 3 or 4 in the Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC).InterventionsSubjects underwent, in a random order, two identical sessions of VRG (console Xbox360+Kinect) and one control session (CONT – 38 min watching a movie). The VRG sessions were composed by four sets of VRG (3 min of Boxing, 1 min for changing the game and 4 min of Tennis) interspaced by 2 min of rest.Main Outcome MeasuresHR and VO2 were measured during the experimental sessions and compared to HR and VO2 obtained at AT and RCP assessed in a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test.ResultsHR and VO2 during VRG presented good reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.91 and > 0.85 and coefficient of variation < 6.7 and < 13.7%, respectively). HR during VRG was similar to AT and significantly lower than RCP (p<0.05), while VO2 was significantly lower than AT and RCP (p<0.05).ConclusionsAn acute session of VRG composed by Tennis and Boxing games of the console XBox360+Kinect promotes reproducible responses of HR and VO2 that corresponded, respectively, to AT and below AT, characterizing a low intensity aerobic stimulus.



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