Altered postural stability in elderly women following a single session of head-mounted display virtual reality

Purpouse: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single session of head-mounted display virtual reality on postural stability in elderly women.

Forty-seven female subjects underwent a 20-minute virtual reality session. The mean age of the subjects was 70.12 years. As an immersive source, we used a relaxing virtual reality game with a head-mounted display device. The postural stability test was conducted using a Nintendo Wii force plate. Participants completed a set of three 30-s trials in which they took a quiet bipedal eyes-open stance while standing on a hard surface: before the virtual reality session, immediately after the virtual reality session, and 2 minutes after the virtual reality session. Centre of pressure parameters were analysed in the sagittal and frontal planes.

Analysing the results obtained immediately after the virtual reality session, significant differences were observed in almost all examined parameters. In the sagittal plane, centre of pressure path velocity increased by 10% ( p < 0.01) and path standard deviation by 15% ( p < 0.05). In the frontal plane, centre of pressure path velocity increased by 14% ( p < 0.01). After 2 minutes, all examined parameters showed no significant difference compared to before the virtual reality session.

Immediately after the virtual reality session, there was an increase in almost all examined parameters. However, after 2 minutes, all examined parameters had returned to baseline. Therefore, to reduce fall risk after a virtual reality session, it is recommended that the subject spend at least 2 minutes in a sitting position.