Balance training at low physical fitness using virtual reality system

Background. Personal degrees of motor activity frequently is a determining factor of human health and longevity. A sedentary lifestyle is a precondition for the development of many diseases and adversely affect the harmonious physical development of a person. The result of poor physical fitness is reduced movement coordination and the balance function, which can cause falls and injuries. Today, it is not always possible for healthy people of working age and adolescents to organize physical education events, however, modern rehabilitation technologies can serve as a solution to this issue.

Aims — analysis of the effectiveness of balance training physical exercises performed in a virtual environment, in people with low physical fitness.

Methods. In the experimental group, a set of physical exercises were performed in a virtual environment, in the control group — in a real environment with additionally created pedagogical conditions aimed at the position of greater instability using gymnastic pads of different stiffness, and foam material bar.

Results. The study involved 20 female volunteers (aged 16 to 17 years), who were divided into two equal groups, comparable in age (р > 0.05). A statistical analysis of the data obtained at the end of the training course showed that experimental and control groups in the maximum torso deviation in the Romberg instrumental test (p = 0.11) when standing on toes with eyes closed (p = 0.24), and the stability time in the Bondarevsky test (p = 0.07) are no longer significantly different.

Conclusions. Performing physical exercises with visual support for biological feedback in a virtual reality system can contribute to the intensification of the learning process, have a beneficial effect on the prevention of a sedentary lifestyle, and also contribute to the training of the balance function, as one of the most important human abilities that determine its motor capabilities.