Actual vs. perceived exertion during active virtual reality game exercise.
Trenton H Stewart, Kirsten Villaneuva, Amanda Hahn and 6 others
PMID 36189005WHAT IT FOUND
In 32 young adults, heart-rate-based effort was higher than the effort they said they felt during three active virtual reality games, in both a lab and a gym.
The games were enjoyable, but no patient outcomes were tested.
Key findings
01Across Fruit Ninja VR, Beat Saber, and Holopoint, actual exertion estimated from heart rate was higher than perceived exertion.
02Holopoint produced the highest exertion and was enjoyed more than Beat Saber or Fruit Ninja.
03Exertion was higher in the gym setting than in the lab setting, but enjoyment did not differ between settings.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 32 of the 47 recruited participants were analysed, so the study is small and may not represent those who dropped out. Participants were healthy college students aged 18 to 39, not patients, so it does not show effects on clinical populations. The study did not test rehabilitation, adherence, function, or patient outcomes. Wired headsets and metabolic sampling lines may have limited movement, especially in the laboratory setting. The game settings chosen may not generalise to other in-game settings. Attentional focus was not measured, so the proposed dissociative effect of virtual reality is not directly tested.
Declared interests
Funded by a Joint Venture Grant (California State University; CSUPERB) and the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise. The authors declared no commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that virtual reality games improve patient exercise, rehabilitation, or adherence. The study measured exertion in 32 healthy college students during 10-minute game sessions and did not test clinical outcomes.