The effect of exergaming on knee proprioception in older men: A randomized controlled trial

Proprioception is the ability to sense the body position, muscle sense, joint stability and posture. As balance decreases during the process of aging, knee proprioception has a critical role in body balance and daily activities. Exergaming has shown to be a potentially effective and more enjoyable form of exercise delivery.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an 8-week Xbox Kinect exercise program on knee proprioception in healthy older adults.

Thirty-two elderly men who were 65 years of age or older were randomly allocated to either a control or experimental group (allocation ratio 1:1). The experimental group received an exergame intervention that included Xbox Kinect with games focusing on movements of the knee joint for 8 weeks (three times per week and 40min per sessions). A Biodex Isokinetic Dynamometer was used to measure knee joint position sense before and after the exercise program.

After eight weeks of training, knee proprioception significantly improved in the intervention group for several knee joint angles: 30° (3.5±1.1), 45° (3.1±0.9), and 60° (3.0±0.6) compared to the control group 30° (5.2±0.8), 45° (5.2±0.8), and 60° (6.2±0.9) (dominant leg F1, 28=23.469, p=0.001. ƞ2=0.456; non-dominant leg F1, 28=23.076, p=0.001. ƞ2=0.452).

The results from this study indicate that exergame intervention can enhance knee proprioception in elderly men.