Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Serious Games
Date Submitted: Jun 21, 2021
Open Peer Review Period: Jun 21, 2021 - Aug 16, 2021
Date Accepted: Nov 13, 2021
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
A serious game for performing task-oriented cervical exercises in patients with chronic neck pain: development, suitability, and crossover pilot study in very older adult population.
ABSTRACT
Background:
There is sparse research on the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise for the treatment of neck pain in elderly populations. Moreover, there is a lack of research on the use of serious games or virtual reality for the treatmeThe primary objective of this study was to develop and assess the suitability of a serious game for performing task-oriented cervical exercises in patients with neck pain.nt of neck pain in this population.
Objective:
The primary objective of this study was to develop and assess the suitability of a serious game for performing task-oriented cervical exercises in patients with neck pain.
Methods:
A serious game was designed based on the key features identified by previous studies designing serious videogames for physical and cognitive rehabilitation or exercise. It was designed to provide an interactive scenario with the main functionality of the software solution to control a virtual aeroplane to reach targets using head motion. At the end of the exercise, the application stores the targets reached and missed and the aeroplane’s trajectory. A pilot study was carried out for preliminary evaluation of the suitability of the technology in the elderly population. Men and women over 65 years of age with chronic neck pain were included. Subjects were randomly assigned to the serious game group or to a conventional exercise group. The protocol for each of the groups lasted 4 weeks, with two treatment sessions per week in both groups, for a total of eight treatment sessions. The following variables were assessed: Suitability Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ), Accuracy, Visual Analog Scale, Neck Disability Index and Mini-Mental State Examination.
Results:
A total of 18 subjects were evaluated for inclusion in the study. Fourteen subjects, aged between 71 and 92 years (81.856.82), were finally included. The global mean SEQ score was 50.38 5.35 points, showing good suitability of the serious game. Most patients considered the experience very enjoyable, and “real” in terms of the virtual environment, and found the information provided to be clear. Also, they believed that the game could be very helpful for their rehabilitation. None of patients felt any neck pain or discomfort when playing the game and only two patients reported some degree of dizziness, eye discomfort or disorientation, which did not limit their capacity to finish the session.
Conclusions:
The serious game developed in this study showed good suitability when used in a very elderly population with chronic neck pain. It was a safe method for performing task-oriented cervical exercises and patients reported very good levels of satisfaction and acceptance after the use of this technology. Clinical Trial: Not applicable
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