Virtual Reality Training to Increase Rehabilitative Exercise in Seniors

NCT04083885 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: M16-19-026
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 47
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 7

Brief Summary

Seniors are at risk for reduced independence and lowered quality of life after injury or illness. Gains in strength, stamina, balance, cardiovascular fitness and confidence resulting from regular exercise can help seniors to maintain (or improve) their functional ability, independence, and quality of life. However, seniors experience many barriers to exercise. The objective is to assess the use of virtual reality (VR) as a motivating way to encourage seniors to do regular rehabilitative exercise. Seniors who could benefit from rehabilitative exercise and who live in two situations, a) long-term care and b) independently in their homes, will be recruited. Participants will be randomized to usual activity (control) or usual activity plus VR exercise. Long-term care residents will do VR with the assistance of care staff or study partners under the direction of the research team. Independent-living participants will do VR in their homes with the supervision of study partners, under the direction of the research team. All participants will be asked to do VR 3-5 times a week for 8 weeks. Mobility (balance, gait, physical function), and health outcomes (falls, hospital admissions) will be assessed and compared over time.

Conditions

Old Age; Debility; Aging

Keywords

rehabilitation; virtual reality; telerehabilitation; technology

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Functional Reach Test

  Measures stability by measuring the maximum distance one can reach forward. Longer distance is better.

  Change from baseline to immediately after 8-week intervention

Secondary Outcomes (22)

• Functional Reach Test

  Change from immediately after 8-week intervention to 1 month later

• Berg Balance Scale

  Change from baseline to immediately after 8-week intervention

• Berg Balance Scale

  Change from immediately after 8-week intervention to 1 month later

• Timed Up and Go

  Change from baseline to immediately after 8-week intervention

• Timed Up and Go

  Change from immediately after 8-week intervention to 1 month later

Study Arms (2)

Virtual Reality

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive 8 weeks of home-based or facility-based virtual reality training, supervised remotely and asynchronously, in addition to their usual activity.

Other: Virtual Reality

Usual Care

NO INTERVENTION

Participants perform their usual activities.

Interventions

Virtual Reality OTHER

Participants will be provided with a virtual reality training program, personalized with respect to their abilities, endurance, needs and treatment goals. They will be trained to use the program and it will be installed in their home or provided at their long-term care facility. Participants will be suggested to perform VR 3-5 times a week for 8 weeks. Sessions will be 20-30 minutes long, depending on tolerance.

Virtual Reality

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Home-based VR - Eligible are seniors (=\> 65 years old) with reduced mobility or functional decline, or who could benefit from increased rehabilitative exercise. Clients must 1) be able to sit or stand without assist (gait aid is fine) for 20 minutes (rest breaks are fine), 2) have sufficient cognitive ability to perform VR, 3) have a study partner, 4) speak and understand French or English, 5) attend 3 sessions at the assessment site or their own home, 6) have enough space in their home, 7) have no health conditions that preclude mild to moderate exercise, 8) live within 50km of the assessment site.
• Facility-based VR - Eligible are seniors living in long-term care and receiving rehabilitation or maintenance programs for mobility issues or functional decline, or who could benefit from rehabilitative exercise. Residents must 1) be able to sit or stand without assist (gait aid is fine) for at least 20 minutes (rest breaks are fine), 2) have sufficient cognitive ability to perform VR, 3) speak and understand French or English, 4) have no health conditions that preclude mild exercise, 5) have a study partner (can be a staff member, family member, friend, volunteer etc.).

You may not qualify if:

• Patients will be excluded if they have an unstable medical condition, seizures or vertigo.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bruyère Health Research Institute.: lead
• York Care Centre: collaborator
• Carleton Manor Nursing Home: collaborator
• Centre for Innovation and Research in Aging, Canada: collaborator
• Nashwaak Villa: collaborator
• Brunswick Hall: collaborator
• Loch Lomond Villa: collaborator
• Windsor Court Retirement Residence: collaborator
• Orchard View Long Term Care Home: collaborator

Study Sites (7)

York Care Centre

Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3A 1A3, Canada

Location

Windsor Court

Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3A 5S3, Canada

Location

Brunswick Hall Special Care Home

Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 0K4, Canada

Location

Orchard View Long Term Care Home

Gagetown, New Brunswick, E5M 1J6, Canada

Location

Loch Lomond Villa

Saint John, New Brunswick, E2J 3S3, Canada

Location

Nashwaak Villa

Stanley, New Brunswick, E6B 1E9, Canada

Location

Carleton Manor Nursing Home

Woodstock, New Brunswick, E7M 5G6, Canada

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Sheehy L, Taillon-Hobson A, Sveistrup H, Bilodeau M, Yang C, Welch V, Hossain A, Finestone H. Home-based virtual reality training after discharge from hospital-based stroke rehabilitation: a parallel randomized feasibility trial. Trials. 2019 Jun 7;20(1):333. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3438-9.

  PMID: 31174579 BACKGROUND

• Sheehy L, Chapman I, Sveistrup H, Yang C, Bilodeau M, Finestone H. Home-based virtual reality training after stroke: preliminary data of a telerehabilitation feasibility randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Stroke 13(2S):207, 2018.

  RESULT

• Sheehy L, Bharadwaj L, Nissen KA, Estey JL. Non-Immersive Virtual Reality Exercise Can Increase Exercise in Older Adults Living in the Community and in Long-Term Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Interv Aging. 2025 Feb 5;20:109-124. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S498272. eCollection 2025.

  PMID: 39931102 DERIVED

Related Links

• Bruyere Research Institute
• Centre for Innovation and Research in Aging

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Frailty

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Lisa Sheehy, PhD

  Bruyère Health Research Institute.

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Justine Henry, MSc

  Centre for Innovation and Research in Aging, Canada

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The outcomes assessor will not know which arm the participants are in. Group allocation will be provided to the research staff member providing the intervention, through use of an online randomization program.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Affiliate Investigator

Model Details: Multi-site Prospective randomized open blinded end-point (PROBE) study

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 5, 2019
• First Posted: September 10, 2019
• Study Start: December 2, 2019
• Primary Completion: December 8, 2022
• Study Completion: January 4, 2023
• Last Updated: February 2, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (7)