Rest Intervals during Virtual Reality Gaming Augments Standing Postural Sway Disturbance

Ross Allan Clark; Ancret Szpak; Stefan Carlo Michalski; Tobias Loetscher

doi:10.3390/s21206817

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Rest Intervals during Virtual Reality Gaming Augments Standing Postural Sway Disturbance

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Rest Intervals during Virtual Reality Gaming Augments Standing Postural Sway Disturbance

Ross Allan Clark, Ancret Szpak, Stefan Carlo Michalski and Tobias Loetscher

Sensors, Vol.21(20), pp.1-10

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s21206817

PMCID: PMC8539689

PMID: 34696030

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Abstract

virtual reality

head-mounted display

balance

postural sway

cybersickness

gaming

Immersive virtual reality (VR) can cause acute sickness, visual disturbance, and balance impairment. Some manufacturers recommend intermittent breaks to overcome these issues; however, limited evidence examining whether this is beneficial exists. The aim of this study was to examine whether taking breaks during VR gaming reduced its effect on postural sway during standing balance assessments. Twenty-five people participated in this crossover design study, performing 50 min of VR gaming either continuously or with intermittent 10 min exposure/rest intervals. Standing eyes open, two-legged balance assessments were performed immediately pre-, immediately post- and 40 min post-exposure. The primary outcome measure was total path length; secondary measures included independent axis path velocity, amplitude, standard deviation, discrete and continuous wavelet transform-derived variables, and detrended fluctuation analysis. Total path length was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced immediately post-VR gaming exposure in the intermittent rest break group both in comparison to within-condition baseline values and between-condition timepoint results. Conversely, it remained consistent across timepoints in the continuous exposure group. These changes consisted of a more clustered movement speed pattern about a lower central frequency, evidenced by signal frequency content. These findings indicate that caution is required before recommending rest breaks during VR exposure until we know more about how balance and falls risk are affected.

Details

Title: Rest Intervals during Virtual Reality Gaming Augments Standing Postural Sway Disturbance
Authors: Ross Allan Clark (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
Ancret Szpak (Author) - University of South Australia
Stefan Carlo Michalski (Author) - University of South Australia
Tobias Loetscher (Author) - University of South Australia
Publication details: Sensors, Vol.21(20), pp.1-10
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2021
DOI: 10.3390/s21206817
ISSN: 1424-8220
PMID: 34696030; PMC8539689
Copyright note: This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy; School of Health - Public Health
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99584808602621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Chemistry, Analytical; Engineering, Electrical & Electronic; Instruments & Instrumentation

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