The study of exercise therapy using a virtual reality system on healthy subjects assuming hospital use and intradialytic exercise

This study aimed to investigate the basic data on the effectiveness and safety of the system in healthy subjects using an immersive virtual reality (VR) exercise system specialized for therapeutic exercise therapy during dialysis or hospital use. A total of 15 healthy adult subjects performed four exercises, namely lifting and rowing exercises using VR and each movement exercise without VR (control). The simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) was administered pre- and post-operatively to assess for VR sickness. Blood pressure, heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exhaustion, Profile of Mood States 2nd Edition Japanese version, and muscle activity (iEMG) were measured using electromyography. The correlation between changes in mood states and HR or iEMG results was examined. The SSQ measured post-VR exercise was 11.2 (18.7–7.5) and 11.2 (7.5–29.9) points in the lifting and rowing VR, respectively. The HR in lifting (VR, 82.5 ± 12.7 vs control, 71.6 ± 10.6 bpm, P