TY  - JOUR
AU  - Afzal, M Waqar
AU  - Ahmad, Ashfaq
AU  - Hanif, Hafiz Muhammad Bilal
AU  - Chaudhary, Nauman
AU  - Gilani, Syed Amir
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/9/15
TI  - Effects of Virtual Reality Exercises on Chronic Low Back Pain: Quasi-Experimental Study
JO  - JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol
SP  - e43985
VL  - 10
KW  - low back pain, lumbar range of motion
KW  - pain
KW  - Oswestry disability index
KW  - virtual reality
KW  - exercise
KW  - back pain
KW  - lumbar
KW  - range of motion
KW  - VR
KW  - rehabilitation
KW  - gaming
KW  - serious game
AB  - Background: Low back pain is a common health problem globally. Based on the duration of pain, it is classified as acute, subacute, or chronic low back pain. Different treatment strategies are available to reduce chronic low back pain. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel approach in back pain rehabilitation. Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of VR games on chronic low back pain. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted among 40 patients with chronic low back pain. The data were collected using a nonprobability, convenient sampling technique. Patients visiting the Department of Physiotherapy, Government Services Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, were recruited and equally divided into 4 groups. Group A received the Reflex Ridge game; group B received the Body Ball game; group C combined the 2 games without back-strengthening exercises; and group D combined the 2 games with back-strengthening exercises. The participants received 8 treatment sessions, with 3 sessions/wk. The outcomes were pre- and posttest measurements of pain intensity, low back disability, and lumbar range of motion. The repeated measurement ANOVA was used for inter- and intragroup comparison, with significance at P≤.05. Results: The study comprised a sample of 40 patients with low back pain; 12 (40%) were female and 28 (60%) were male, with a mean age of 37.85 (SD 12.15) years. The pre- and posttest mean pain scores were 7.60 (SD 1.84) and 4.20 (SD 1.62) in group A, 6.60 (SD 1.776) and 5.90 (SD 1.73) in group B, 6.90 (SD 1.73) and 5.40 (SD 1.07) in group C, and 7.10 (SD 1.53) and 3.60 (SD 0.97) in group D, respectively. The mean pain score differences of group D (combining the Reflex Ridge and Body Ball games with back-strengthening exercises) compared to groups A, B, and C were –.60 (P=.76), –2.30 (P<.001), and –1.80 (P=.03), respectively. Regarding the range of motion, the forward lumbar flexion mean differences of group D compared to groups A, B, and C were 3.80 (P=.21), 4.80 (P=.07), and 7.40 (P<.001), respectively. Similarly, the right lateral lumbar flexion mean differences of group D compared to groups A, B, and C were 2.80 (P=.04), 5.20 (P<.001), and 4.80 (P<.001), respectively. The left lateral lumbar flexion mean differences of group D compared to groups A, B, and C were 2.80 (P<.001), 4.80 (P=.02), and 2.20 (P<.001). respectively, showing significant pre- and posttreatment effects. Conclusions: VR exercises had statistically significant effects on improving pain, low back disability, and range of motion in all groups, but the combination of Reflex Ridge and Body Ball games with back-strengthening exercises had dominant effects compared to the other groups. Trial Registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial IRCT20200330046895N1; https://en.irct.ir/trial/46916 
SN  - 2369-2529
UR  - https://rehab.jmir.org/2023/1/e43985
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/43985
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37713252
DO  - 10.2196/43985
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/43985
ER  -