Virtual reality skateboarding training for balance and functional performance in degenerative lumbar spine disease.
Yi-Ching Tsai, Wei-Li Hsu, Phunsuk Kantha and 2 others
PMID 38724981WHAT IT FOUND
A six-week VR skateboarding program reduced pain and improved walking, strength, and balance in older adults with degenerative lumbar spine disease.
Participants used handrails for safety, and the study lacked a control group receiving usual care.
Key findings
01Patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease showed significant reductions in pain scores after the training, with 78.57% achieving the minimum clinically important difference.
02The training group demonstrated significant improvements in all functional assessments, including walking speed, distance, sit-to-stand time, and fall risk measures.
03Postural sway parameters significantly decreased in the patient group, indicating improved balance stability, although mean frequency increased.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study had no control group receiving usual care or a sham intervention, so it is impossible to separate the effects of the VR skateboarding from the natural course of the condition or the Hawthorne effect. The sample size was very small, with only 14 patients in the DLD group. Participants held onto waist-level handrails throughout the training, which likely provided significant stability support and may have diluted the true training effect on balance. The study included healthy controls who also trained, but this does not account for the specific pathology of DLD; the comparison is not to a standard treatment group.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the National Health Research Institutes, the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan, and National Taiwan University.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume VR skateboarding is superior to standard physical therapy. This study lacked a control group receiving usual care, so the observed improvements could be due to any consistent exercise program or the attention received, rather than the specific VR skateboarding intervention.