Can virtual reality training improve walking performance?

Abstract

A previous study showed that repeatedly exposing to conflict condition in a Virtual Reality training program could improve perceptual-motor adaptation and balance of the elderly people, resulting in improvement in walking performance and reduction in fall risks. According to the study, such walking training might benefit people, as it could facilitate motor calibration more accurately and flexibly during natural walking. The purpose of present study was to examine whether exposure to perceptual-motor mismatch in Virtual Reality could improve walking performance of young adults, so as to prevent them from falling in the future. In the first experiment,16 adult participants, aged 19 to 26 years, were recruited to undergo6 blocks of training and testing phases. In the training phase, the experimental group walked while viewing a circular rotating scene that provided a perceptual-motor mismatch. After each training block, participants were required to walk in an obstacle course in testing phase for assessing their walking performance. However, the experimental group failed to walk significantly faster than the control group. In the second experiment, 20 adult participants, aged 18 to 23 years, were recruited. The experimental procedure was similar to experiment 1, but participants were required to walk while carrying a cup of water in obstacle course, so as to measure their reinvestment effect. Confidence change was also measured to assess its relationship with walking speed. Nevertheless, the experimental group did not significantly improve walking performance and confidence more than the control group. Results failed to replicate the previous study, indicating that the benefits of virtual reality training might be limited or require extensive training.