VR Could Help Improve Balance in Older People

Researchers at the U.K.'s University of Bath and Portugal's Clínica do Dragão, Espregueira-Mendes Sports Center are exploring the use of virtual reality (VR) to improve balance and prevent falls in older people, reports Engineering and Technology Magazine . The researchers reviewed data from 19 studies to investigate the validity, reliability, safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of head-mounted display systems for assessing and training balance in older adults. In a study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living , they found VR could not only effectively evaluate balance and help prevent falls and improve postural control and gait patterns, but also differentiate between healthy and balance-impaired individuals. "Using VR opens up a huge range of scenarios that are more natural and relevant to the real world," said Bath's Pooya Soltani. He added that "alternatively, VR could be used more like a video game where patients navigate virtually through a maze while doing additional cognitive tasks, like solving mathematical problems." Tests showed that in VR versions of traditional balance tests, older adults generally were more cautious and took more time to complete tasks.