The COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the mental health and physical activity level of the elderly. Virtual reality-based exercise – a means of engaging a person with exercise in a three-dimensional virtual world by allowing interaction with multi-sensory activities – is a novel approach to promoting the health and wellbeing of older adults by creating a world becomes free from Covid-19 and its pandemic effects.
The elderly, especially those over 65, are hardest hit by the pandemic, and despite the recent development of COVID-19 vaccines, the prevalence of the disease is increasing. Cognitive impairment, decreased motor skills, increased obesity, and mental disorders are common deficits that older people face on a daily basis, and all of them are made worse by the pandemic.
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Fewer social gatherings, interactions and the resulting self-isolation are obstacles to the usual way older people usually exercise. This is a problem because structured physical activity is known to improve overall health outcomes and wellbeing in the elderly, so a new exercise is needed. A group of researchers led by Professor Gao recently published an editorial on the effectiveness and effectiveness of virtual reality exercises for promoting the health and well-being of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and even beyond.
"Using rehabilitation techniques at home would result in more effective rehabilitation because using VR allows older adults to get real-time feedback from home when they are away from the clinic. This may be particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic as older adults may wish to remain in quarantine in their homes due to their increased risk of contracting the virus. ”Professor Gao
Virtual reality is a type of technology that enables patients or users of the technology to enter a virtual world. It can be immersive or non-immersive. Immersive virtual reality involves the use of a head-mounted display or an enclosed room display to excite patients with desired activities / environments. To involve the patient, non-immersive VR involves displaying desired activities or environments on a projector or desktop. Virtual reality exercises are widely discussed in psychotherapy and stroke rehabilitation and have been shown to improve the general health and well-being of the individual.
Based on previous research showing the value of virtual reality-based exercises for older adults, Gao and colleagues summarize the results of virtual reality-based exercises on common health problems in older adults (cognitive impairment, decreased motor skills , increased obesity, and mental disorders) that could worsen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The authors reported that…
“… two studies had muscle strength as a result measure that improved significantly, one examined hip strength and the other used grip strength. Because of this difference, the effect of VR on targeted muscle strength is not clear and further research is required in the future. ”
Virtual reality exercises improve the mental health outcomes of older adults, including anxiety and depression, especially when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT. However, more supporting empirical evidence is needed in this research area, considering that only one empirical study and two preliminary reviews have been identified. According to Gao et al. Empirical studies support that VR leads to improvements, although not always significantly, in the most common health problems in older adults: decreased motor skills, increased obesity, impaired cognition, falls and various mental disorders.
In general, virtual reality exercises are an inexpensive, simple and enjoyable way of performing therapeutic exercises. In addition to making social distancing easier, having numerous benefits, and giving patients more choice and variety in how to perform exercises, it is a tool that we as clinicians are likely to continue to use from now on.
References
Gao Z, Lee JE, McDonough DJ, Albers C. Virtual Reality Exercises as a Coping Strategy for Health and Wellness Promotion in Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
