RT journal article
T1 Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Therapy on Balance and Gait in the Elderly: A Systematic Review
A1 Rodríguez-Almagro, Daniel
A1 Achalandabaso-Ochoa, Alexander
A1 Ibáñez-Vera, Alfonso Javier
A1 Góngora Rodríguez, Jorge Manuel
A1 Rodríguez Huguet, Manuel
A2 Enfermería y Fisioterapia
K1 virtual reality;
K1 Postural balance
K1 Conventional balance training;
K1 Exercise
AB Virtual reality (VR) therapies are presently utilized to treat physical and cognitive impairments among elderly people. This systematic review aims to collect the most recent evidence on the effectiveness of VR in improving balance and gait among healthy elderly individuals, in comparison with other therapies. A literature search was conducted using the PubMed, SCOPUS, PEDro, and WoS databases, by selecting randomized clinical trials that evaluated balance, both static and dynamic, as well as gait in a population of healthy older adults who underwent virtual reality therapy. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the PEDro scale. After eligibility criteria were applied and duplicates were removed, 20 studies were selected out of 1705 initially identified. The present systematic review concludes that virtual reality therapy is more effective than minimal intervention or usual care in enhancing static balance, dynamic balance, and gait in healthy elderly individuals. Moreover, virtual reality therapy yields better outcomes compared to traditional balance training and physical exercise in improving balance and gait in this demographic. However, both methods have shown effectiveness.
PB MDPI
SN 2227-9032
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32704
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32704
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 09-nov-2026